Scribd
Upload
245 views5 pages

Never A Good Time

The document discusses recent human rights issues in Sri Lanka. It details the arrest of prominent human rights activists just as the UN human rights council discusses Sri Lanka. It describes ongoing intimidation of civilians and critics of the government in former conflict areas, indicating that human rights abuses continue despite the government's claims of progress.

Uploaded by

Thavam
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as ODT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
245 views5 pages

Never A Good Time

The document discusses recent human rights issues in Sri Lanka. It details the arrest of prominent human rights activists just as the UN human rights council discusses Sri Lanka. It describes ongoing intimidation of civilians and critics of the government in former conflict areas, indicating that human rights abuses continue despite the government's claims of progress.

Uploaded by

Thavam
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as ODT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 5

Never a good time

Sri Lanka and human rights

Banyan-Mar 21st 2014, IT WAS with an incredible sense of bad timin that the o!ernment of Sri "an#a arrested a co$%le of %rominent h$man-ri hts wor#ers this wee#&'$st as the (nited )ations* h$man-ri hts co$ncil in +ene!a oes to wor# siftin thro$ h its m$r#y record for some si n of %ro ress, Acti!ists now fear a wider crac#down by the %resident, Mahinda -a'a%a#sa, .is re ime has rown increasin ly defiant in the face of an American-led resol$tion that see#s to hold it acco$ntable for war crimes that are alle ed to ha!e ha%%ened at the end of Sri "an#a*s ci!il war in 200/&and also calls for an end to a series of on oin h$man-ri hts ab$ses, The resol$tion is to be tabled before the co$ncil on March 20th, Some of the ab$ses co!ered by the resol$tion were ill$strated earlier this month, 1n March 12th, a widow named Balendran 3eya#$mari and her teena e da$ hter were arrested in 4ilinochchi on s$s%icion of harbo$rin a man who is alle ed to ha!e shot at

a %oliceman, The s$s%ect, 4,5, Sel!anaya am or 6+o%i7, is also acc$sed of %lottin to re!i!e the Tamil Ti er rebel mo!ement, The "iberation Ti ers of Tamil 8elam 9"TT8: were the br$tal or anisation that was cr$shed militarily in 200/, To this day both sides in their war a ainst the state stand acc$sed of horrific war crimes; amon the o!ernment*s were the orchestrated disa%%earances of tho$sands of ci!ilian men, women and children, )early fi!e years since the war ended, the o!ernment has a!oided $nderta#in any inde%endent in<$iry of its own into alle ations a ainst its troo%s, 3$st this wee# a new st$dy was released, see#in to co!er crimes committed since the end of the war, b$t li#e many others it was cond$cted witho$t official co-o%eration, Mrs Balendran and her da$ hter were re $lar %artici%ants in demonstrations a ainst the disa%%earances, Two of her sons were #illed in the war, A third son, a former childsoldier who had been conscri%ted by the "TT8, has been missin since she t$rned him o!er to the army, She has a %hoto ra%h of him from when he was bein held in a state-r$n rehabilitation cam%, )ow Mrs Balendran is herself bein detained, $nder the draconian 5re!ention of Terrorism Act 95TA:, at a notorio$s %rison in the so$th, She has been se%arated from her 12-year-old da$ hter, =i%ooshi#a, who was %$t in a children*s home, .ers is not the only case, 1n March 1/th, %olice too# in one of the co$ntry*s best#nown h$man-ri hts acti!ists, -$#i >ernando, and 5ra!een Mahesan, a -oman ?atholic %riest, as they were ma#in in<$iries abo$t Mrs Balendran*s detention, They, too, were held $nder the 5TA and interro ated for two days, @$rin their <$estionin

they were as#ed abo$t their contacts in +ene!aA the interro ators wanted to #now if they were %assin information to the ()*s co$ncil, The arrests of Messrs >ernando and Mahesan tri ered a worldwide cam%ai n to

sec$re their release, mainly d$e to Mr >ernando*s international %rofile, .$man-ri hts or anisations iss$ed a torrent of statements, Both Britain and America, co-s%onsors of the resol$tion, said the Sri "an#an o!ernment*s actions warranted f$rther scr$tiny& '$st the thin it had been fi htin f$rio$sly to a!oid, With the hel% of s$ch intense %ress$re, both Mr >ernando and >ather Mahesan were %rod$ced before a ma istrate and dischar ed from c$stody, A statement from Sri "an#a*s ministry of eBternal affairs claims that the whole e%isode demonstrated 6the fair and trans%arent manner in which law and order is administered in the co$ntry7, 9A retired di%lomat remar#ed it wo$ld ha!e been a 6most biCarre way in which to demonstrate s$ch a thin 7,: >or Mr >ernando, the harassment didn*t end with his release, Two %lainclothes %olicemen !isited his %arents* home on March 1/th and told his a ed mother and father&both in their D0s&that they wo$ld ha!e to attend a criminal in<$iry, It was only called off after his lawyers ob'ected, Another day later, howe!er, and in!esti ators had obtained co$rt orders to ban both acti!ists from tra!ellin abroad witho$t s%ecial %ermission 9$%dated, +MT 4%mA their %ass%orts were not im%o$nded:, 1n March 20th they also barred Mr >ernando from s%ea#in to the media and tried to confiscate his tablet com%$ter, .e now stands acc$sed of 6embarrassin the o!ernment7 and of 6attem%tin to re!i!e the "TT87,

amon other thin s, Ironically, Mr >ernando has been an acti!e and !ocifero$s critic of the Tamil Ti ers, S%ea#in before the co$rt orders came,he admitted to bein 6a little scared7 b$t said he will contin$e his h$man-ri hts wor#, .e was con!inced that the arrests were a messa e to Sri "an#a*s ci!il society, which already stands %etrifiedA dissent will not be tolerated, The o!ernment has already said that anyone who co-o%erates with international or anisations to in!esti ate ab$ses is a 6traitor7 or a 6cons%irator7, B$t e!en its allies are <$estionin the rationale behind clam%in down on these acti!ists now&the !ery wee# the h$man-ri hts co$ncil is debatin the iss$e, @ayan 3ayatille#a, Sri "an#a*s former %ermanent re%resentati!e to the (nited )ations in +ene!a, criticised the arrests as 6not '$st o$tra eo$s, b$t decidedly irrational7, The o!ernment told the h$man-ri hts co$ncil that it has si nificantly red$ced the army*s %resence in the former conflict areas of the co$ntry*s north, It said a ma'ority of the war*s dis%laced ha!e been resettled and that life there is ret$rnin to normal, B$t it does not ta#e m$ch to see the lie, The whole area is swarmin with %lainclothes intelli ence a ents who intimidate the local %o%$lation and #ee% them from disc$ssin the war and anythin else to do with %ast or %resent ab$ses, S$r!eillance is increasin in other %arts of the co$ntry too, 3o$rnalists are findin that the %eo%le they inter!iew on any of a h$ e ran e of to%ics, from in!estment to o!ernance, are more inclined to re<$est the %rotection of anonymity, Members of the o%%osition and %eo%le who ha!e been labelled as dissenters are %artic$lar tar ets,

1n March 1/th, ?handri#a 4$marat$n a, a former %resident, wrote to Mr -a'a%a#sacom%lainin of the constant s$r!eillance of her own mo!ements, She says this incl$des the interce%tion of her e-mail and tele%hone comm$nications, s$r!eillance of her %ri!ate residences and 6!isits7 %aid to friends who had fre<$ented her home, Mrs 4$marat$n a said she has serio$s reason to be concerned abo$t her own safety, She cited 6the %re!ailin %ractice of destroyin anyone who is considered a threat to the hi her a$thorities by yo$r o!ernment, by means of m$rder, Edisa%%earances*, %hysical attac#s7, 1n March 21st the office of the c$rrent %resident, Mr -a'a%a#sa, released a letter to state that her claims were $ntr$e, The world wo$ld do Sri "an#an democracy a reat fa!o$r on March 20th if the () were to %$sh ahead and call for an international in<$iry into both war crimes and on oin re%ression, The o!ernment loo#s set on %ro!o#in forei n and domestic criticism, In this it sho$ld not be disa%%ointed, 95ict$re creditA A>5:

You might also like