A treasure map, assassination plot and kidnapping

among dark secrets of Sri Lankan asylum seekers

Jason Koutsoukis-July 11, 2014
Fear for their lives ... from left, Janaka
Gayan Athukorala, 40, Hemantha Kuruppu, 41, and Suee!a
Saparamadu, 4". #art of $roup of 41 asylum seekers returned to
Sri %anka. #hoto& Jason Koutsoukis
'aleed Aly& Harsh treatment of asylum seeker is same old
story
(edi)al advi)e i$nored in )ase of asylum seeker !ho attempted sui)ide
Colombo, Sri Lanka: The 12-metre fishing vessel called the Sithumina left Batticaloa
on Sri Lankas east coast at 2!"0am on June 12!
The 41 #assengers on $oard had met the shi# several hundred metres from the $each
after $eing ferried there in t%o small $oats #o%ered $y out$oard motors!
*urnin$ +a)k the +oats ... Sri %ankan #resident (ahinda ,aapakse -left.
shakes hands !ith Australia/s 0mmi$ration (inister S)ott (orrison in
1olom+o after )ommissionin$ t!o Australian2$ifted naval patrol +oats for
people smu$$lin$ operations. #hoto& AF#
&ost of the #assengers %ere men %ho have since freely admitted that they %ere
sim#ly looking for ne% 'o$s and a $etter life in safe and far a%ay (e% )ealand! *fter
only 14 days at sea they %ere #icked u# $y the +oyal *ustralian (avy!
,n &onday, all 41 #assengers %ere returned $y the *ustralian government to Sri
Lanka! * destination %here -mmigration &inister Scott &orrison said this %eek, in the
ca#ital .olom$o, he had no concerns a$out their safety or %ell$eing!
But not everyone on $oard the Sithumina %as 'ust looking for %ork! Some of the
families on $oard %ere carrying some dark secrets and no% $elieve their lives are in
danger!
,epatriated to Sri %anka +y the Australian navy ... 3ne of 41 asylum seekers
is delivered to )ourt in Galle, 1olum+o +y Sri %ankan navy personnel. #hoto&
Jason Koutsoukis
-n an attem#t to $ring their circumstances to the attention of the *ustralian
government, or any other government or organisation that can offer them #rotection,
these families have agreed to tell /airfa0 &edia the chilling stories that really drove
them to flee their native country!
1ach family has a different story to tell, each one as strange as the other!
Su'ee%a Sa#aramadu, is a 42-year-old mother of three teenagers! She and her
hus$and +an'ith, 44, %ere successful $usiness #eo#le and have lived a life that #uts
them in the u##er tier of Sri Lankas middle class, a$le to afford #rivate education for
their children!
4n)ertain future ... the repatriated Sri %ankan asylum seekers 2 Hemantha
Kuruppu -third from left., Janaka Gayan Athukorala -forth from left., and
Suee!a Saparamadu -se)ond from ri$ht. 2 and their families. #hoto& Jason
Koutsoukis
*ccording to Sa#aramadu, her trou$les $egan in (ovem$er 2012 %hen eight of her
relatives including her mother, three $rothers, and some ne#he%s and nieces, landed
in *ustralia!
,uts#oken su##orters of the controversial Janatha 2imukthi 3eramuna, or 3eo#les
Li$eration /ront, a &ar0ist-Leninist movement that has #artici#ated in t%o armed
u#risings against Sri Lankan governments in 1451 and the late 1460s, Sa#aramadu
says they fled for #olitical reasons!
/our of that grou# of eight, including Sa#aramadus mother, have $een allo%ed to stay
in *ustralia and are currently living in Bris$ane!
But Sa#aramadus three $rothers %ere returned to Sri Lanka! She says t%o of her
$others, *'ith 7rishantha 8anigasinhe, "2, and Susiri#ala 8anigasinhe, "4, have not
$een seen since they returned!
9- dont kno% if they are alive or dead,9 Sa#aramadu said on Thursday! 9&y third
$rother, Sunil 8anigasinhe, %as arrested si0 months later !!! - think he is in the #rison
in (egom$o $ut - have no confirmation!9
*fter her four family mem$ers %ere returned to Sri Lanka, Sa#aramadu gave an
intervie% to the *ustralian Broadcasting .or#oration in %hich she says she %as highly
critical of the Sri Lankan government, led $y 3resident &ahinda +a'a#aksa since
200:!
9- started getting threats straight a%ay! 3eo#le calling me, threatening me! Sto##ing
me in the street asking me ho% could - say such horri$le things a$out my country,9
says Sa#aramadu!
*s the harassment continued, her hus$and +an'ith, %ho is the o%ner of car e0#ort
com#any in Ja#an %here he is entitled to live and %ork, decided to #roceed %ith an
a##lication for #ermanent residency %hich %as, according to a num$er of documents
sho%n to /airfa0 &edia, initiated during 2012!
But as the months #assed, and +an'ith continued to %ork in Ja#an, the harassment
$ecame more threatening! ,n /e$ruary 16, 201", Sa#aramadus son 3reyon %as
kidna##ed on his %ay home from school!
9The kidna##ers rang me ;uickly, not more than one hour after he %as taken, and
demanded money! They %anted :00,000 ru#ees <=4200> $ut - told them - only had
400,000 ru#ees <=""00>!9
She met the kidna##ers at a near$y location and her son %as handed $ack after she
thre% them a $ag %ith the money in it!
9They told me if - %ent to the #olice, %orse %ould ha##en to me!9
,ther things did ha##en! 8indo%s at her house %ere smashed! She %as $eing
follo%ed $y #eo#le in %hite vans! ,n &ay 1:, 201", t%o masked men - one of %hom
%as armed - tried to force their %ay into her house $ut could not get #ast the gate!
Sa#aramadu sho%ed /airfa0 a recei#t for the #olice com#laint she lodged that day, $ut
says that no one follo%ed u# the incident!
Sa#aramadu took her children out of school and %ent into hiding, moving to different
locations around the country
9- %as very afraid! T%o of my $rothers are missing! ,ne of my $rothers is in a 'ail, $ut -
cannot visit him!9
8ith her hus$and home from Ja#an and, according to Sa#aramadu, restrictions
#laced on their a$ility to leave the country legally, she and her hus$and decided to
take themselves and their children to *ustralia $y $oat in June 201"!
They %ere still on the $each, trying to $oard the $oat, %hen the Sri Lankan army
#ounced, arresting all the #assengers! Sa#aramadu sho%ed /airfa0 &edia a
ne%s#a#er cli##ing from June last year re#orting their arrest!
Sa#aramadu alleges that after they %ere arrested, her hus$and %as taken to a #olice
station and she %as taken into the 'ungle $y seven soldiers, along %ith t%o other
%omen!
Sa#aramadu gave a horrific account of %hat follo%ed, $ut asked that the details not $e
#u$lished!
9&y hus$and is the only #erson - have told,9 she said! 9They threatened me, said they
%ould kill me if - told anyone! Said they %ould kill my children!9
Bailed to a##ear in court for trying to leave the country illegally, Sa#aramadu said she
felt even more des#erate!
9&y hus$and could not go $ack to Ja#an to %ork! 8e didnt kno% %hat to do!9
Sometime earlier this year, +an'ith and several friends %ho also felt endangered
decided to try to flee the island, #ooling their savings to $uy the Sithumina fishing
vessel! The #urchase #rice %as nearly =14,000 and it came %ith %orking ?3S
navigation e;ui#ment and not much else!
The $oat %as registered in +an'iths name and %hen he faced a Sri Lankan court on
Tuesday this %eek, he %as remanded in custody, accused of $eing the ringleader of
the enter#rise!
T%o other men %ho decided to 'oin the voyage and hel#ed #ay for the $oat %ere
@emantha 7uru##u, 41, a father of three and a former media co-ordinator for the
&inistry of Aefence, and his $usiness #artner Janaka ?ayan *thukorala, 40, a father
of t%o!
The t%o men run a $uilding material su##ly com#any on the coast south of .olom$o,
$ut their account of %hat made them flee is as strange as it is frightening!
9Auring the civil %ar, %hen - %as %orking for the &,A <&inistry of Aefence>,9 says
7uru##u, 9- $ecame very friendly %ith a Buddhist monk in a tem#le in the north!9
7uru##u says that $ecause his 'o$ involved taking video footage of the %ar, he %as
often in Sri Lankas north, near the conflict Bones!
9,ne day he asked me to do him a favour, and gave me a very ancient $ook, a very
#recious $ook,9 7uru##u told /airfa0 &edia!
7uru##u and *thukorala descri$ed the $ook as an ancient treasure ma#, that
su##osedly gave the location of the $urial sites of gold and #recious stones!
Both men descri$ed the $ook as %eighing 1" kilograms, and say that there are several
smaller versions in Sri Lankas national museum! 8hether or not the $ook is an
accurate guide to hidden treasure is im#ossi$le to verify!
But it is no e0aggeration to say that $oth men sincerely $elieve the $ook to $e
genuine! So did the monk %ho gave the $ook to 7uru##u, and so do many other
#eo#le!
7uru##u says the monk %ho gave him the $ook asked him to take it to another
Buddhist tem#le in the south for safekee#ing, $ecause he said #eo#le had learned of
its %herea$outs!
7uru##u says he did take it to the other tem#le, %here it remained under the guard of
a num$er of monks!
9-n January 201", the monks called me, and they asked me to #lease take the $ook
a%ay! They said criminal gangs had learned that the $ook %as in their #ossession!
*nd they felt threatened!9
8hen 7uru##u %as asked %hy he then didnt sim#ly take the $ook to the #olice, or the
government, he said he feared that they %ould arrest him for not having $ought it to
them $ack in 2006 %hen he %as %orking for the &inistry of Aefence!
9So - took the $ook, and - stored it, $ut gradually, $ecause there %ere #eo#le %ho
kne% that - %as very friendly %ith the monks in this tem#le, different gang mem$ers
started to ask me to give them the $ook and started threatening me!9
8hy not give the $ook u#C 9*t first - didnt %ant to! Then it %as DseveralE different
gangs %ho %ere asking and - feared that the ones %ho - didnt give it to %ould come
after me!9
7uru##u says the gang ke#t harassing him and in June last year he %as $eaten, his
four four front teeth smashed %ith the $utt of a handgunF 9*ll the time they are coming
to my house, calling me, threatening me!9
*thukorala says he %as not $eaten $ut received similar threats!
,n ,cto$er 20, 201", $oth men decided to leave their homes and families and go into
hiding together! /irst they fled to Sri Lankas %est coast!
9*ll the time, they %ere ringing our families, the families of our %ives,9 says *thukorala!
,n &ay 20 this year, 7uru##u %ent to his family home south of .olom$o!
9They %ere %aiting for me! They said if - didnt give u# the $ook, they %ould kill my
children! That %as the night that - decided to leave the country! - rang Janaka
<*thukorala>, and he said he %ould come %ith me! 8e thought there %as no other
%ay!9
8hen asked %hy he didnt leave legally $y #lane, $oth men said they feared they
%ould $e arrested, sus#ecting that Sri Lankan #olice %ere also looking for them to
o$tain the treasure ma#!
9- told the #eo#le %ho kidna##ed me yes, - %ill give it to you, give me a month to get it
and its yours,9 7uru##u said!
7uru##u and *thukorala and $oth their families s#ent the ne0t %eeks frantically
organising their #assage on $oard the Sithumina %ith +anith and Su'ee%a
Sa#aramadu!
9*nother gang caught me on June 6, - told them the same story, give me some time, -
%ill give you the $ook!9
,n June 12 the t%o men and their families $oarded Sithumina, ho#ing that once they
made it to (e% )ealand they %ould $e a$le to organise the sale of their #ro#erty in Sri
Lanka and set u# a ne% life for themselves!
They tried to shield their faces %hen they a##eared in court on Tuesday, $ut their
names and #ictures %ere #u$lished in the Sri Lankan media the ne0t day!
9&y %ifes mother has already $een threatened,9 7uru##u said! *s the intervie% %as
$eing conducted, his %ife said she had 'ust received another call, this time from one of
her sisters, saying the gangs %ere also after her no%! *s 7uru##uGs %ife $roke do%n in
tears, 7uru##u %rung his hands!
*thukorala attested that mem$ers of his e0tended family had already $een threatened
since Tuesday! Both men $elieve they are stranded! They fear the Sri Lankan #olice
as much as they fear the gang mem$ers!
98hat can %e doC 8e have called the Hnited (ations, %e have called everyone, no
one says they can hel# us! 8e are fearing for our lives,9 *thukorala said!
/airfa0 &edia can also reveal that the Sri Lankan S#ecial Task /orce commando %ho
has $een remanded in custody and charged %ith $eing a ringleader of the enter#rise,
&ahinda -ndika, "2, had decided to flee for a very different reason!
*lthough he %as a mem$er of the countrys elite S#ecial Task /orce, /airfa0 &edia
understands that -ndika has, for the last eight years, $een the driver for Sri Lankas
-ns#ector-?eneral of 3olice, (! 7! -llangakoon!
-t is understood that earlier this year, -ndika %as a##roached $y an under%orld gang
%ho %anted his hel# to assassinate -llangakoon!
9The gang %anted him to tell them the -?s %herea$outs,9 said one source %ho $riefed
/airfa0 &edia on the matter! 9@e loved his $oss, he didnt %ant to do that! But unless
he coo#erated %ith the gang they told him they %ould kill him!9
-ndika, %hose %ife had 'ust given $irth through .aesarean section four %eeks earlier,
took the only choice he $elieved %as o#en to him!
9@e learned a$out this $oat that %as leaving for (e% )ealand, and he decided that
%as his only choice to save himself,9 the source said!
*ll of #eo#le %ho %ere intervie%ed $y /airfa0 &edia said that they each told their
stories to *ustralian -mmigration officials via satellite #hone!
9The intervie%s %ere 20 to "0 minutes long, $ut it %as very difficult to descri$e our
situation,9 Sa#aramadu said! 9The line ke#t dro##ing out, it %as very noisy on the deck
of the shi#, they couldnt hear #ro#erly, - %as crying a lot!9
@emantha 7uru##u and Janaka *thukorala s#oke of the same e0#erience, adding that
they %ere further ham#ered $ecause they had to conduct their intervie%s in front of
the other Sri Lankan #assengers!
9There %ere three #hones, so %hen my intervie% took #lace, there %ere t%o standing
ne0t to me and - didnt %ant them to really kno% everything a$out my situation,9
7uru##u said!
Several days later, 7uru##u and Sa#aramadu say the ne0t thing they kne% %as they
%ere $eing given a card $y *ustralian .ustoms and Border 3rotection officials telling
them they %ere $eing returned to Sri Lanka!
9- $roke do%n on the floor of the shi#, crying, $egging them not to take me $ack to Sri
Lanka,9 says 7uru##u!
(o% they dont kno% their fate! They are hiding out in a half-$uilt house %ith little
$edding and no cooking facilities in the middle of the Sri Lankan 'ungle, %aiting for the
une0#ected!
98e are not #oor, - kno% %e are not refugees like other #eo#le, $ut %e have reasons
to fear! Some$ody #lease hel# us,9 said Sa#aramadu!!