(A) Unverified Allegations

The spate of criticism and accusations, leveled at the SL Armed Forces, the Police and the Government of Sri Lanka during recent times, for complicity in abductions and disappearances that have taken place in certain parts of the country are unfounded. Various groups and organizations, local as well as international, have raised concern over these alleged human rights violations.

It is significant to note that there is no confirmation that these agencies have followed any procedures to verify the allegations. The GoSL is taken to task based mostly on hearsay and fabrication that certain elements in government agencies have had a hand in some of these abductions and disappearances.

(B) GoSL Upholds Rule of Law

The GoSl as a democratically elected government, is committed to upholding the rule of law and the preservation of human rights, this includes the conduct of inquiries into the fate and whereabouts of missing persons including abductions. This is an ongoing and continuous process. It is not a response to the recent allegations in various fora.

However as a responsible member state of the international community the GoSl has established a series of mechanisms recently to reinforce the protection of human rights. Some of the initiatives are as follows:

            •   A Ministry of Human Rights and Disaster Management has been established for the first time.

            •  The Standing Committee on Human Rights has been reconvened. The Committee is mandated to deal with allegations of  human rights violations by the Police and Armed Forces and to provide policy guidance to the GOSL on various human rights issues

            •  An Inter-ministerial Committee on Human Rights was convened and meets monthly with senior members of the law   enforcement agencies and relevant ministries in a concerted effort to meet problems and arrive at effective resolution without   delay.

            •  Selected Police stations have since 2006 been staffed with individuals who have attended Tamil teaching programmes.   Retired Tamil speaking public servants and other senior members of civil society have been invited to assist. This is to enable  the Tamil speaking community to approach the Police with ease and enable a better communication system.

            •  The appointment of Retired High Court Judge Mahanama Tillekeratne to head a Commission to inquire into the increasing  allegations of instances of abductions, disappearances and killings in Colombo and other parts of the country.

            •  The appointment of a Presidential Commission of Inquiry (COI) to investigate and inquire into alleged serious violations of human rights and the International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP) appointed to observe that the COI functions  in accordance with international norms and standards.

            •  The re-issue of Presidential Directives on the Arrest and Detention of Persons. The directives restate the statutory authority of  the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka to monitor the welfare of persons detained through regular inspections of places    of detention and require that the police inform the commission within 48 hours of all arrests and detentions. The police must   also provide relatives of persons arrested with receipts

Sri Lanka, as a party to a number of international human rights treaties and as a member of the UN Human Rights Council, is taking every possible step to protect and preserve human rights in the country. The GoSL and the SL Armed Forces are not deterred by the attempts made by the LTTE to place the blame on the GoSL for the myriad human rights violations perpetrated by the LTTE.

[For example on 6 th October 2004, a joint Press Release issued by the International Commission of Jurists, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International requested the LTTE to stop human rights violations, and to prove that the LTTE is both willing and capable of respecting the lives and rights of all Sri Lankans. It was also stated then, by Loubna Freih, Geneva Director for Human Rights Watch, that the ‘LTTE seems to have dramatically escalated the killing of perceived Tamil opponents and is still recruiting child soldiers” – See Peace in Sri Lanka: Obstacles And Opportunities, 2005,p. 378. It was also stated by the University Teachers for Human Rights ( Jaffna) in August 2006, that the hapless people living in the LTTE controlled areas have been long abused and that the LTTE carries no credibility internationally (http://uthr.org/Statements/)
 

(C ) Revelations re alleged abductions

The inquiries conducted by the Disappearance Investigation Unit (DIU) of the Criminal Investigation Department ( CID) and the relevant Police authorities and the subsequent revelations, have led to the inescapable conclusion that much of the accusations were stage managed for mere propaganda purposes. The following, which reveal the outcome of the investigations substantiate the fact that neither the Security Forces, nor the Police, have been involved, directly or indirectly, in the alleged abductions and disappearances.

It is evident that many of the cases reported below were clearly and intentionally manipulated, with the ulterior motive of gaining some personal advantage. This was in some instances to gain entry to a foreign land. In other instances, it was to avoid a Customs penalty or a consequence of not adhering to a Court order. Other cases reveal the negligence on the part of those who were allegedly abducted, of not informing their parents or guardians about their fate or whereabouts. Some others also show that underworld criminal gangs have been conveniently mistaken to be armed groups consisting of SL Army and Police personnel.

The LTTE in its endeavour to tarnish the image of the GoSL, exaggerates the human rights situation as a debilitating and hopeless one. Any group or organization, falling prey to this malicious propaganda of the LTTE, without prior inquiry, investigation or reliable verification, could as well be accused of complicity in propagating and disseminating the message and motives of the LTTE.

A summary of some of the complaints and inquiries conducted by the DIU and the Police are as follows:

1) Complaint: The Human Rights Commission ( HRC) of Sri Lanka, by letter dated 20 th October 2006, reported the disappearance of Sivarasa Devendran of Manipai, Sudumalai.

Comment: Inquiries by the DIU of the CID revealed that Sivarasa Devendran is presently domiciled in France. His mother, Sivarasa Parameshwari, has confirmed this position.

2) Complaint: The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, by letter dated 07 th July 2006, reported the abduction of Mr. Krishnapillai Kamalanadan, the Director of the Tamil Rehabilitation Organization ( TRO) on 02 nd July 2006.

Comment: Inquiries conducted by the DIU of the CID revealed that Krishnapillai Kamalanadan is presently employed in the LTTE controlled Eastern area as the Director/ TRO. Mr. Kanagasabapathy Balendran, the Senior Consultant of TRO/Colombo Offfice, confirmed this.

3) Complaint: The HRC of Sri Lanka, by letter dated 28 th November 2006, reported the disappearance of Joseph Kennedy of No. 722/1, Police Lane, Ragama, on 04 th May 2006.

Comment: Inquiries conducted by the CID revealed that Mr. Joseph Kennedy was arrested by the Modera Police on 05 th May 2006 for possessing dangerous drugs. He had been fined Rs. 6,000/= by the Magistrate’s Court, Maligakanda (Case No. 43358), after having pleaded guilty. Since he had failed to pay the fine, Mr. Kennedy had been in Remand Custody for sometime and released consequent to the payment of the fine. He is presently being re-united with his spouse Nadeesha Kennedy who is the complainant.

4) Complaint: The United Nations (UN) Colombo Sri Lanka, complained to the CID that a UN staff member, Moorthy Pradeep, was abducted by two gunmen from his residence in Batticaloa on 03 rd December 2006, and had requested a ransom for his release.

Comment: Inquiries conducted by the DIU of the CID revealed that Moorthy Pradeep has been relocated in another area by the UN Office after being found in Colombo. The UN Colombo Sri Lanka withdrew the complaint.

5) Complaint: On 28 th October 2006, the OIC/Grandpass Police received three complaints to the effect that the following had been threatened over the telephone demanding ransom, and if not, to face abduction. They are:

        i.   Anthony Lawrence (Date of complaint – 20 th October 2006)

        ii.   Ramasamy Jayakumar (Date of complaint – 27 th October 2006)

        iii.   Abdul Rasheed (Date of Complaint – 28 th October 2006)

Comment: The Officers of the Grandpass Police arrested suspects Mohomad Sarook, Abdul Hameed and Mohomad Irfan in this regard, whose complicity have been revealed. Criminal proceedings were instituted against them on 24 th February 2007 in the Magistrate’s Court of Colombo (Case Nos. B 7150, 7151 and 7152). None of these suspects are connected to the Security Forces of the GOSL, but to an organized criminal gang.

6) Complaint: On 28 th October 2006, one Suppaiyah Dharmarajah of Mattakkuliya lodged a complaint at Modera Police Station to the effect that one Ms. Wijekumari Sriprabha, a boarder resident at his abode, had gone missing. This was thought to be an abduction.

Comment: Inquiries conducted by the Modera Police Station revealed that she appeared at the residence of the complainant on 08 th November 2006 stating that she had got married to a person from Wattala and had spent the last few days with him.

7) Complaint: On 21 st November 2006, Ranjini Shanthimoorthy, the spouse of Nadaraja Chandramoorthy of New Chetty Street, Colombo 13, complained to Kotahena Police Station that she received an anonymous phone call to the affect that an unknown group had abducted her husband on his way to the Embassy. Subsequently she made another statement stating that her spouse Nadaraja Chandramoorty had returned home.

Comment: Inquiries conducted by the Kotahena Police Station revealed that this complaint had been lodged in order to obtain a certified copy of the same to apply for Visa to travel overseas. This refers to Magistrate’s Court Colombo, Case No. 7904/06.

8) Complaint: Major M.D. Dassanayake of the OCC/Colombo was taken into custody by the TID of the CID for his involvement with the LTTE. He had assisted the LTTE by providing vital information regarding the movements of Senior Army Officers, including the movements of Late General Parami Kulatunga and Major T.N. Muthalif of the Military Intelligence.

Comment: Inquiries conducted by the TID of the CID revealed that he is the leader of an underworld gang that is responsible for the kidnapping of a businessman named K. Gandidasan of No. 56, York Street, Colombo 01. The victim has been released after a payment of US $ 375,000/= by a relative of the victim who is residing in Singapore.

9) Complaint: The Australian High Commissioner of Sri Lanka complained to the CID that Mr. Nadarajah Sri Skandarajah, an Australian citizen residing at No. 61/1A, Gregory’s Road, Colombo 07.

Comment: Inquiries conducted by the CID revealed that Mrs. Sri Skandarajah had lodged a complaint at Cinnamon Garden Police on 20 th July 2006 that her husband, Mr. Nadarajah Sri Skandarajah, was missing. Subsequently, Mrs. Sri Skandarajah had informed the investigators that she paid Rs. 6 million to the abductors for the release of her husband. However she declined to disclose as to how she collected this money to pay the ransom. Inquiries also revealed that the Sri Lankan Customs is conducting an inquiry against Mr. Sri Skandarajah for defrauding the GOSL to the value of Rs. 450 million by way of making a false declaration. This case is nearing completion and he is liable for a penalty of Rs. 1,350,000 million and criminal charges.

It should also be noted that in the course of the custom inquiry in 2004, Mr. Sri Skandarajah disappeared and Mrs. Sri Skandarajah, in her statement to the Sri Lanka Customs, had stated that Mr. Sri Skandarajah left saying “I am going out of Colombo” and that she thinks he is in Polonnaruwa. Based on the above mentioned facts, it could very well be inferred that this abduction/disappearance has been manipulated with the intention of avoiding the huge custom penalty.