TCHR Appeal 16th Session

The document is a letter from the Tamil Centre for Human Rights (TCHR) to the United Nations Human Rights Council. It summarizes ongoing human rights issues in Sri Lanka, disputes claims made by the Sri Lankan government, and calls for international pressure and investigations into alleged war crimes and ongoing violations. Specifically, it notes that over 70,000 internally displaced persons remain in camps, disappearances and violence continue with impunity, and colonization is ongoing in the North and East of Sri Lanka.

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TCHR Appeal 16th Session

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TAMIL CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS - TCHR/CTDH

CENTRE TAMOUL POUR LES DROITS DE L'HOMME

(Established in 1990)
(UN accredited NGO to the World Summit on Information Society and the
Warsaw Conference)
www.tchr.net
07 March 2011
The President
Members and Delegates
Human Rights Council - 16th Session
United Nations
1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

Distinguished Sirs / Mesdames

First of all, we extend our congratulations to your presidency of the Human Rights Council.

We have regularly reported on the human rights situation in the Island of Sri Lanka, since our
organisation was founded in 1990. Our reporting is based on indisputable facts. The United Nations
human rights monitoring bodies have appreciated the veracity of our reporting.

Although it is now nearly two years since May 2009 when the government launched a massive
onslaught on the people in the North of the island, and won the war - the situation is far from normal.

The situation of the Internally Displaced People (IDPs) in the North and East remains critical. There are
still at least 70,000 people who have not been permitted to leave the concentration camps created by
the government after May 2009. International human rights law is still being violated by Sri Lanka.

The disappearances, arbitrary killings, violence against women continue with impunity, colonisation is
taking place on a massive scale.

The speech made by Mr Mahinda Samarasinghe, the Sri Lankan Minister of Plantation in this forum on
28 February 2011, glosses over some of these realities. For example, he said that “only a total of
12,000 IDPs remain in 3 welfare villages.....”

In the same speech he also stated that:

According to the statistics in his own speech, 739 ex-combatants who were, in the Minister’s
terminology, “submitted to custody”, remain unaccounted for. This is a serious matter that we
urge you and the working group on enforced disappearances to verify from Sri Lanka, to
ascertain what has happened to these people.

As far as disappearances are concerned this small island with so called democratically elected
government still has the highest number of disappearances. This is on the UN records.
Herewith we attach a few statistics on disappearances in Sri Lanka. These figures do not include the
600 who are alleged to have gone missing from Jaffna during and after the Riviera Operations in 1995.
The Presidential Commissions of Inquiries in 1997 received 12,000 additional complaints of
disappearances which were not inquired into as they did not come within their mandate. The latter
figure includes 7000 disappearances from the Batticaloa district submitted by Fr. Miller of the Batticaloa
Citizens Committee in 1991.

There is no official confirmation of the figures of disappearances that are taking place since
Mahinda Rajapakse took office in November 2005. There were estimates of 5000 to 6000 alleged to
have disappeared; this is excluding those who have gone missing during the last days of the conflict.
The figure of last days of the conflict varies from 40,000 to 60,000. However the UN has put the figure
at 7000.

At the same time, the Minister uses the Tamil diaspora as a pretext for the extension of the Emergency
Regulations which have been in force for decades.

Mr President, distinguished members, Sri Lanka has committed war crimes and crimes against
humanity and these have not been investigated either locally or internationally. Several distinguished
members of Parliaments, Senates and spokespersons of many foreign ministries have called for
international independent investigations in Sri Lanka.

Press freedom and freedom of expression are still in peril in Sri Lanka. The editor of the Sunday
Leader, Mr Lasantha Wickeramatunga was assassinated on 8 January 2009 and his assassins enjoy
impunity. The journalist Pregeeth Ekanaliyagoda was abducted on 24 January 2010 is still missing. The
government has turned a blind eye to the assassination of Wickeramatunga and the abduction of
Pregeeth Ekanaliyagoda and others. This has led to suspicions that the government is behind these
violations. So far neither an independent inquiry nor any serious attempt to find the culprits of these
serious violations has taken place. From time to time the government comes out with tactics to fool, and
continues violating press freedoms.

Therefore, once again we call upon the members of this 16th session of the Human Rights Council to
exert pressure on the Sri Lankan government to investigate the Genocide, cultural genocide and
multiple displacements that have occurred.

Accountability for wars crimes and crimes against humanity is a critical factor if there is to be a stable
situation in the island.

A political solution is also urgently required, addressing the legitimate aspirations of the Tamil people, in
order that there be a durable and just peace.

Years ago, the security forces created “High Security Zones” in the densely populated residential areas
of the Northeast and continue to occupy civilian homes and public buildings. People continue to live in
abject fear.

The colonisation of North and East continues with the support of the government. Gradually the village
names become Sinhala and Buddhist statues appear in every nook and corner, a trend we have
reported on for some time to this forum.

Misinformation is disseminated locally and internationally by the Sri Lankan government, to

distort the real picture of what is happening in Sri Lanka.

We appeal to you to take immediate action on Sri Lanka, during this session.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely
S. V. Kirubaharan
General Secretary

HEAD OFFICE:
Tamil Centre for Human Rights - TCHR/CTDH
9, rue des Peupliers - 95140 Garge les Gonesse - FRANCE
Contact person : S. V. Kirubaharan – General Secretary
Tel/Fax: + 33 1 42 67 54 36 - Email: [email protected] / [email protected]