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International community should arrest the reappearance of mass graves in the Tamil homeland

Statement by the LTTE Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs spokesperson:

On 24 January 2008, in the Kiriketuwewa area in Kebitigollewa in the Anuradhapura district, Sri Lankan Police, following information from locals who said that they can see a human hand sticking out from the ground, dug up two mass graves next to each other and recovered 16 bodies.

The graves were examined in front of the local judge. It was noted that there were vehicle tire marks leading to the graves. The judge ordered the 16 bodies to be removed to the Anuradhapura district hospital for forensic examination. According to the forensic report submitted to the judge, six of the bodies in one grave were buried two weeks prior to the exhumation and the other ten bodies in the other grave were buried ten days prior to the exhumation on 24 January. The forensic report also said that the hands were tied behind the back, some of the bodies had gun shot marks and some of the bodies had torture marks.

Unable to identify the bodies, they were ordered to be buried in the Anuradhapura cemetery for future exhumation, after video recording and photographing the bodies added the hospital report.

Some intriguing questions arise from these facts.

If these are bodies of Sinhalese civilians it should not be difficult to identify them because they would have gone missing very recently and there have not been many reports of disappearance of Sinhalese civilians recently. Indeed, if they were the bodies of Sinhalese civilians, the fact they are yet to be identified makes a mockery of the Sri Lankan State and its law enforcement apparatus in the Sinhala areas.

We therefore have strong reasons believe that these are bodies of young Tamil men who have disappeared recently. More than 1000 young Tamil men and women have gone missing over the last two years after arrest by the Sri Lankan State operated forces. The presence of tire marks leading to the Kiriketuwewa mass graves and the fact that the bodies were buried in the same location on two different times suggest that the State forces were involved in these burials. The families of the more than 1000 missing young Tamil men and women, living in the open prison that is Jaffna and under pervasive fear in the east, are in no position to travel to Anuradhapura to identify their loved ones. Neither will the Sri Lankan State operated forces be interested in assisting the families to identify the bodies of the Tamil men.

We strongly believe that the international community should make this into a test case and force the Sri Lankan State to make an island wide effort to identify the bodies and study the background to them ending up in Kiriketuwewa. We want to warn the international community of the large number of mass graves that are scattered around the island without any resolution despite many commissions of investigations. Urgent action should be taken by the international community to arrest the reappearance of new mass graves in the island.

31 January 2008

Editorial-The Bottom Line:

Defence Secretary Gotabhaya has once again raised a hornet’s nest

This time, Rajapaksa, in an interview with the Lankadeepa newspaper, is calling for a blanket press censorship on reporting military matters.

Worst still, he wants to bring back the archaic criminal defamation legislation – removed from the statute books six years ago. This is a clear indication that he is trying to turn the clock of media freedom back to colonial times, when the law was introduced.

When Rajapaksa calls for such action, one needs to stand up and take notice. After all, he is not just a Secretary, but a ‘Super Secretary’ whose word invariably becomes law. It was only a month back, when the Defence Secretary called for the abrogation of the CFA, and it was done, pronto.

In June last year, the issue of re-introducing criminal defamation came up before the cabinet. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said that the re-introduction of criminal defamation laws will be another terrible setback for press freedom in Sri Lanka where human rights abuses against journalists and unfair censorship is imposed.

“The IFJ is firmly opposed to criminal defamation laws, which are so often abused by those in power to silence journalists and stifle dissent,” IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said.

In the face of stringent criticism last year, SLFP General Secretary Minister Maithripala Sirisena reassured the people that the government would not re-introduce criminal defamation laws.

“We are a government and a political party which always stands for the rights of journalists,” said the SLFP General Secretary who would have to eat humble pie if the Defence Secretary has his way this time.

Minister Sirisena said President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his government were committed to ensure media freedom and the safety and dignity of journalists.

Before the country could come to grips with the slashing of the wrists of Rupavahini Senior Producer Lal Hemantha Mawalage last week, Thinakaran Associate Editor Suhaib M. Cassim was stabbed at his Maligawatte residence.

The country and the world have seen and heard how safe journalists have been in Sri Lanka during the tenure of this government, particularly during the past year, when nine journalists have died and dozens more have fled the country.

The way the senior media men at Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation have been treated – shabbily and brutally, after the Mervyn Silva fiasco, speaks volumes of this government’s commitment to uphold the dignity of journalists.

Never before has state media personnel being subject to such cruel and inhuman treatment.

During then past 17 months, the government and the military have used subtle forms to stifle the media, including veiled threats and strong arm tactics, but never resorted to blanket censorship.

If this happens, it is a clear indication that the military is going flat out to wage war. We are not against the prosecution of war, per se. After all, it was the LTTE that pulled out of peace talks during the previous government and did not pursue peace with this administration, despite efforts of the international community.

But, if the proposed censorship is meant to conceal the true casualty figures and prevent reporting of excesses by the security forces, then it is a serious situation that warrants comment and condemnation by any journalist worth his salt.

UN human rights commissioner in the firing line

Protests in front of the UN compound in Colombo usually call for more assertive action by the world body, but this week was different: The People’s Liberation Front (PLF), the second largest opposition party, held a demonstration calling on UN Human Rights High Commissioner Louise Arbour to mind her own business, and her language.

The PLF’s criticism of Arbour stems from comments she made in recent speeches that human rights violators in Sri Lanka, even those in senior government posts, could be charged in international criminal courts.

“The high commissioner warned that violations of these rules by any party could entail individual criminal responsibility under international criminal law, including by those in positions of command,” the UN said in a statement on 15 January.

Arbour’s statement reflects her concern over the possibility of increased civilian casualties with the end of the ceasefire between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers on 16 January.

The PLF and other groups, including the pro-government National Patriotic Movement (NPM), said they took Arbour’s comments as a veiled threat to discourage military operations by government forces to dislodge Tamil Tigers from areas under the latter’s control in the north.

“Arbour directly threatens the political and military leaders who are involved in taking measures for national security,” the National Patriotic Movement (NPM) said in a statement on 18 January. “What she says in diplomatic language is that if anyone takes steps to liberate the Wanni and Killinochchi areas [under Tiger control] they would be branded as war criminals and brought before international law. This is clearly a threat.”

The PLF also came out strongly against Arbour’s statement and said it was “international terrorism” to attempt to influence the actions of a democratically elected government.

“If any politician or military officer is taken before international law for taking decisions on behalf of the motherland,” PLF leader Somawansha Amarasinghe said on 16 January, “they would have to take them over our dead bodies.”

The NPM warned such statements could endanger the lives of UN staff and requested UN officials to be more careful. “We also call upon all responsible officials of the UN in Sri Lanka, considering the safety of the employees of the UN and its assets, to refrain from making such utter[ly] foolish statements that would enrage the people in this country,” it said.

Government reaction

The government reaction to Arbour’s statement has been more measured. Disaster Management and Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said the decision to pull out of the ceasefire was taken after lengthy deliberation and the government would not condone or support rights violations by its forces.

“As in the past, even at the cost of delay in the implementation and successful completion of military operations, the government will take all necessary and meaningful measures to avoid civilian casualties and hardships to civilian populations,” Saramasinghe said in a statement on 16 January, adding, “the government is compelled to indicate to the UN high commissioner for human rights that it considers her statement on the end of the CFA [ceasefire agreement] containing warnings on ‘individual criminal responsibility’ as being untimely, inappropriate and unacceptable.”

Sri Lanka’s Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva called Arbour’s comments gratuitous and biased. “The high commissioner has once again proven one point - how unqualified the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is in monitoring and reporting human rights in Sri Lanka as an independent actor,” it said on 17 January.

The government has had a long-running disagreement with Arbour, who visited Sri Lanka in October 2007, over the latter’s proposal to set up a field presence of the high commissioner’s office in Sri Lanka to monitor and report on abuse.

Civic groups speak out

Civic groups in Colombo see the latest attack on the UN official as an extension of recent efforts by political groups and sections of the media to discredit international agencies, including the UN.

A group of 13 national organisations including the Centre for Policy Alternatives, the Law and Society Trust and the Free Media Movement have banded together to defend Arbour and others who have come under criticism for advocating international human rights monitoring. They said attacks like the recent one on Arbour could hamper assistance to the most needy in Sri Lanka and endanger the lives of humanitarian workers even more.

“Where it concerns the war-affected civilian population in the north and east, it is the humanitarian organisations that have often been the main source of institutional solace to the people,” they said in a statement on 17 January.

“Over the last two years humanitarian agencies have faced multiple incidents of violence, including killings and disappearances of humanitarian staff, attacks against offices and vehicles, and threats and intimidation, which has made working in Sri Lanka all the more challenging.” [irinnews.org]-[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

In a Letter to the Editor of The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), James Ross-Legal & Policy Director of Human Rights Watch has reinstated the call for the deployment of an international human rights monitoring mission in Sri Lanka under the auspices of the United Nations.

“National justice mechanisms, including a presidential commission of inquiry, have failed utterly”, James Ross said while voicing concern for the plight of civilians amidst mounting abuses.

Full Text of Letter:

Bring Human-Rights Monitors Back to Sri Lanka

January 23, 2008

Your editorial on the continuing tragedy of Sri Lanka’s civil war (”Rajapakse’s Big Bet,” Jan. 11) depicts a situation that is likely to get worse before it gets better. Both the Tamil Tigers and government security forces are committing serious abuses, but national justice mechanisms, including a presidential commission of inquiry, have failed utterly. The cessation of the 2002 Ceasefire Agreement and the resulting departure of the Nordic truce monitors means that civilians facing the greatest risk of abuses will have few options when their lives are threatened. Now is the time for the Sri Lankan government to agree to the deployment of an international human-rights monitoring mission under United Nations auspices, an idea that has the support of the United States and the European Union, among others. While a U.N. mission cannot end Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict, by establishing a presence on the ground and monitoring abuses by both sides, it can provide a significant measure of security to Sri Lanka’s embattled civilians.

James Ross
Legal & Policy Director
Human Rights Watch
New York, New York

Bombs and bullets greet end of ceasefire

An upsurge in violence, including a spate of bombings in the last few weeks of 2007, led the government on 2 January to declare it would be pulling out of the 2002 ceasefire agreement (CFA) on 16 January.

This it has now done, and the prospects for an improved humanitarian situation and lasting peace look gloomier than ever.

On 28 November 2007 a parcel bomb at a shopping arcade in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, left 17 dead. Since that blast, the violence has escalated at breakneck speed throughout Sri Lanka. Two parliamentarians were assassinated on 1 and 8 January, and the number of clashes between government forces and the Tamil Tigers have increased sharply.

On 2 January a bus carrying government soldiers to a military hospital in Colombo was targeted in a claymore mine attack. It was then that the Sri Lankan government informed Norway, the facilitator of the 2002 ceasefire, that it was withdrawing from the CFA as of 16 January.

Mutual recriminations

“Let it not be said that the government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa didn’t try to engage the LTTE [Tamil Tigers] in negotiations towards ushering in peace,” Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama told parliament on 10 January. “However, once again underlying its lack of commitment to the peace process, the LTTE has shown no inclination to arriving at a political settlement and continued its duplicitous action of escalating violations of the ceasefire agreement.”

The Tigers have in return blamed the government for undermining the truce. “With no regard to the CFA, the government of Sri Lanka began undertaking large-scale military offensives, creating immense human misery in the Tamil homeland,” the Tiger Peace Secretariat said in a 10 January press release.

Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission

The ending of the CFA also ends the presence of the Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission (SLMM), which has been staffed by Nordic nationals. This could lead to more violence, according to observers.

“There is very likely to be an escalation of the violence in intensity and frequency,” Jehan Perera, executive director of the Colombo-based peace advocacy forum National Peace Council, told IRIN. “The removal of the truce and the SLMM has taken out the last deterrent on the ground.”

Clashes have increased in the north between government and Tamil Tiger-controlled areas. According to statistics released by the Defence Ministry and the Tigers, the number of casualties in fighting on the northern battlefront in the first 10 days of 2008 could be over 200.

The final day of the truce was one of the bloodiest: 32 civilians were killed and over 50 injured in attacks in Buthala, about 250km southeast of Colombo. Twenty-six of those killed died in a claymore mine attack on a civilian bus. Survivors said that after the blast, gunmen had fired at the bus for about five minutes.

Bleak humanitarian, economic outlook

Security has been tightened in major Sri Lankan urban areas with the government anticipating more attacks. Since mid-December the UN and other international agencies limited their work in some areas under Tiger control, after Tiger warnings that their safety could not be guaranteed.

International donors have also expressed fear the violence will lead to further deterioration of the humanitarian and human rights situation in the country.

“This decision [to pull out of the CFA] and the current military campaign further deteriorate the country’s already difficult situation, including the humanitarian and human rights situation,” the European Union said in a statement on 7 January. “Without the CFA, the prospects of negotiating a lasting, peaceful solution to the conflict in Sri Lanka are narrowed further.”

If the situation slides further, countries, including EU members, may impose economic sanctions, Muttukrishna Sarvananthan, a Colombo-based economist said.

“Duty free access of garment exports from Sri Lanka to the EU is up for renewal this year. It is likely it would not be renewed because of the poor human rights record of Sri Lanka in recent years,” he told IRIN.

Sarvananthan also fears the economy would not be able to withstand an extended conflict. “The year 2008 is going to be extremely challenging for the security, economy and polity of the country,” he said. “High defence and public expenditure in general cannot be sustained for long.”

The immediate prospects are so dire that some professionals are already looking at leaving the country. “What else to do? The only good option is to go somewhere else,” assistant bank manager Sujeewi Jayasuriya told IRIN.[irinnews.org]

The National Peace Council of Sri Lanka has urged the Sri Lanka “mainstream political parties to shed extremist and selfish politics, and instead to work together with others to devise a humane and just political strategy in keeping with international law to resolve the long festering ethnic conflict”.

Full Text of National Peace Council Press Release:

Shed Extremist and Selfish Politics and Uphold International Law

The killing of 27 civilians and injuring more than 60 in a claymore mine attack on a passenger bus in Buttala in south east Sri Lanka is the latest in a series of attacks against civilians. The National Peace Council condemns this attack which is suspected to by the LTTE. The deliberate targeting of civilians by means of such remote-controlled explosives devices is a heinous crime. Such acts of terror will serve to further strengthen the forces of extremism and intolerance in society which needs to be guarded against. The National Peace Council expresses its deep sorrow at the loss of life and the disregard for humane values that such an attack demonstrates. We are aware that the current phase of conflict has led to atrocities against the civilian population of all communities and fear that similar incidents will take place unless a conscious decision is taken to steer the country in a different direction.

In this context we welcome the statement by the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, who has said international law obliges all parties to protect civilians without discrimination and includes prohibitions against the arbitrary deprivation of life, arbitrary detention, forced displacement, enforced disappearances, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and the deployment of children as soldiers. She has also pointed out that violators, and those in command, can be held accountable under international criminal law.

It is unfortunate that the abrogation of the Ceasefire Agreement by the government should have led to the dismantling of the field monitoring apparatus that was available to the Nordic monitors of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission. As the government has been resisting a UN field monitoring presence, the National Peace Council calls on the government to ensure that another monitoring mechanism be put in place utilizing civil society organizations that have experience in monitoring, have a track record of standing for international human rights and have a capacity to maintain a field presence where required.

At this juncture when the country appears heading towards sharply escalating violence, the National Peace Council also urges the mainstream political parties to shed extremist and selfish politics, and instead to work together with others to devise a humane and just political strategy in keeping with international law to resolve the long festering ethnic conflict. We believe that the political parties that currently comprise the All Parties Representative Committee have an opportunity to send a positive signal to the Tamil people and to the LTTE when they put out their long awaited political proposal on January 23.

Executive Director, National Peace Council of Sri Lanka
On behalf of the Governing Council