Sri Lanka: Government rounds up activists as UN fudges on inquiry

Activist Ruki Fernando was detained in Sri Lanka on Sunday. Pic: AP.

By JS Tissainayagam Mar 21, 2014

As the UN Human Rights Counci !UNHRC" in Geneva #as discussing the c auses of its reso ution on Sri Lanka$ the Co om%o government used troops and specia a#s to arrest human rights defenders !HR&s" in the northern part of the country ast #eek' (t is ironic that #hi e the Sri Lanka Government decided to %eef)up mi itarisation in the former #ar*ones and arrest activists$ the UNHRC agreed to de ete the #ord +demi itarisation, from its draft reso ution' -n .arch /0$ in the former #ar*one of 1i inochchi a arge num%er of mi itary personne and po ice officers of the 2errorism (nvestigation &ivision !2(&" surrounded the home of 2ami activist 3a endran 4ayakumari$ and her daughter$ /0)year)o d 5i%ooshika' According to the po ice$ as they tried to enter the house a fugitive descri%ed as an L226 mem%er shot and #ounded a po iceman %efore escaping' 2he

po ice detained 4eyakumari and her daughter overnight' -n .arch /7 4ayakumari #as produced %efore a magistrate$ arrested on a detention order under the 8revention of 2errorism Act !82A" and sent to 3oossa$ a prison a%out 9:: mi es from her home' 3esides the distance$ set as it is in the heart of the Sinha a area$ 3oossa remains a security risk for 2ami fami y mem%ers #ishing to visit detainees' 3ut #orse$ the prison has over the years %ecome a %y#ord for torture' 4urists the #or d over have denounced Sri Lanka;s 82A as a a# that faci itates torture$ ar%itrary detention and denies suspects fair tria s and due process' <et Sri Lanka continues to use the a# #ith impunity' 2he government;s interest in 4ayakumari and her daughter stem from the prominent ro e they have p ayed on mo%i ising protests against disappearances' 4ayakumari;s /=) year)o d son #as conscripted %y the L226 and surrendered to the government #hen fighting ended in .ay 9::>' Later$ ho#ever$ the Government denied he #as in its custody' 3ut a #hen a photograph of him in a Government)run reha%i itation faci ity #ith other e?)re%e s #as pu% ished$ 4ayakumari;s demands for her son %ecame more insistent' @ith the authorities refusing more information$ 4ayakumari and 5i%ooshika %ecame active in mo%i ising pu% ic support against disappearances' 2heir protests %ecame the focus of internationa attention #hen 3ritish 8rime .inister &avid Cameron visited northern Sri Lanka #hi e he #as in the country for the Common#ea th Summit in Novem%er' @hen fami ies of the disappeared schedu ed to meet Cameron #ere forci% y prevented from doing so$ a group of #omen %roke through a po ice cordon and spoke to foreign Aourna ists' At the centre of that protest #ere 4ayakumari and 5i%ooshika$ #hose story #as fi med %y the 3ritish net#ork Channe 7 and to d throughout the #or d' 2he ega $ Audicia and mi itary operation on 2hursday that resu ted in 4ayakumari;s confinement in 3oossa is a microcosm of government po icy in northern Sri Lanka' Bo o#ing the mi itari y defeating L226 re%e s$ Co om%o has done very itt e in tack ing the po itica roots of the conf ict %et#een Sinha ese and 2ami s' 2he inevita% e outcome of this strategy is the government having to pacify the former #ar*one %y saturating it #ith the mi itary$ and contro ing the popu ation through the 82A rather than norma a#' !.-R6: Ana ysis: 2he assau t on freedom of e?pression in Sri Lanka" Assuming the po ice story a%out the fugitive L226 mem%er is not a fa%rication$ the first question is #hether 4ayakumari kno#ing y and #i ing y har%oured this +terrorist

suspect', 6ven if she did$ norma a# in Sri Lanka is adequate to dea #ith persons #ho har%our crimina s %ut themse ves did not commit vio ent acts' -thers #ho have har%oured vio ent crimina s are not detained under counterterrorism a#s and automatica y made accomp ices of terror C it is on y to those to #hom the Government se ective y app ies the 82A' Burther$ if 4ayakumari #as charged under norma a# she cou d have o%tained %ai and need not have to %e separated from 5i%ooshika$ her on y surviving chi d$ #ho #as handed over to chi d pro%ation officers' .ean#hi e$ on /D .arch$ t#o more human rights defenders #ere arrested under the 82A in 1i inochchi' Ruki Bernando$ a Sinha ese$ is one Sri Lanka;s %est kno#n human rights activists campaigning against disappearances$ detention of Aourna ists and documenting vio ations for the UN' Bather 8raveen .ahesan$ a 2ami Catho ic c ergyman and director of the Centre for 8eace and Reconci iation in 4affna$ has a so %een active in tracking disappearances' Bernando and .ahesan spent Sunday ooking into the care of 5i%ooshika after her mother;s arrest and speaking to fami ies of the disappeared' 2hey had to d friends that they #ere under mi itary survei ance #hi e doing so' 2hat night they #ere arrested %y the 2(&$ questioned and said to %e detained under the 82A' 2hey #ere then %rought to Co om%o for further interrogation' 2hey #ere re eased ate 2uesday evening fo o#ing an internationa outcry' As in the case of 4ayakumari$ #hat %efe .ahesan and Bernando #as a so a consequence of mi itarisation' 2here is no ega restriction on peop e speaking to others %ecause their fami ies having %een detained or disappeared' Ho#ever in Sri Lanka;s north and east$ as .ahesan and Bernando found out$ a such activities are considered suspect and need to %e videoed %y the mi itary' Reports coming in from 1i inochchi and vi ages in the area speak of ever)increasing survei ance and mi itarisation even after the arrest and re ease of the t#o activists' 2he Government;s strategy right no# is using the mi itary and 82A to intimidate persons #ith strong connections #ith the internationa community for t#o$ connected$ reasons' Birst$ Co om%o remains nervous a%out persons and institutions C especia y civi society organisations C #ith e?tensive internationa connections' 2he reason is that internationa connections are$ re ative y$ a %etter shie d to HR&s from government intimidation to si ence them' Second$ #ith the UNHRC sessions no# going on in Geneva there is concern that documented information on human rights a%uses is %eing supp ied to strengthen a reso ution asking for an internationa investigation into past #ar crimes and present a%uses$ inc uding mi itarisation'

Rea ising the de eterious effects of mi itarisation$ there #ere concerted efforts in the past to make the internationa community address it' And it #as seen as something of an achievement that the first draft of the reso ution to %e adopted ater this month %y the UNHRC demanded demi itarisation' Significant y$ ho#ever$ the most recent draft has struck out the #ord +demi itarisation', 2he internationa community;s move to de ete demi itarisation from the draft signa s to Co om%o that there #i %e no serious opposition to it ru ing northern Sri Lanka through the mi itary' (t a so te s the Government very c ear y that #hi e the internationa community might pressure Co om%o to re ease detained HR&s off and on$ there #i %e no consequences to perpetuating the main instruments C mi itarisation and the 82A C that cause human rights vio ations to take p ace$ and put in Aeopardy the i%erty of activists ike 4eyakumari$ Bernando and .ahesan'