Published On: Thu, Jan 19th, 2012
| By eelamaran
Sri Lanka is featured as one of the 26 countries where we have some of the most serious wide-ranging human rights concerns, The UK foreign and Commonwealth office said in a latest update.
When deciding on which countries to include, we also considered whether the country had been the target of a high level of UK engagement on human rights in 2010, and whether it would be likely to effect positive change in the wider region if its human rights record improved.
We will provide quarterly updates below so you can follow human rights developments in Sri Lanka, as well as what actions the UK is taking. You can also find out more about our work in Sri Lanka by clicking on the links in the grey box on the right.
Latest update: 31 December 2011
According to local media there were 13 incidents of extrajudicial killings or disappearances between November and December. Many of those abducted have been alleged to have links with organised crime, but two opposition JVP party political activists were also abducted while travelling in the North. Other incidents have included attacks on university students in the North and the abduction of a Jaffna university student by unidentified persons in late November. The student was released after 24 hours, approximately 90 miles from where he was abducted. Most cases of past disappearances remain unresolved, including that of columnist and cartoonist Prageeth Ekneligoda, whom the Government of Sri Lanka recently claimed had sought asylum abroad. Mr Ekeneligoda’s wife is pursuing the matter in Court. The High Commission in Colombo is closely following events and attended a December hearing of the case. The High Commission regularly raises concerns with relevant authorities regarding disappearances.
There has been renewed government focus on internet media with a number of news websites being blocked. On 18 October, the Lanka-e- News website was blocked in Sri Lanka. More news websites, including sites associated with the main opposition party, were blocked on 5 November. In addition, the Ministry of Mass Media issued a directive that news casting websites must register with the government. EU heads of mission publicly expressed concern at the blocking of websites and called on the Sri Lankan authorities to ensure that the rights of the free media are respected.
LGBT-rights activists have raised concerns over increased negative media coverage and harassment, as well as unwarranted scrutiny by law enforcement authorities. A gay-rights organisation was reportedly visited twice in October by the Criminal Investigation Department who searched their offices, questioned the staff and took sensitive information on clients.
The final set of local council elections took place in October. Concerns were raised over misuse of public property, voter intimidation, and disregard for election laws. A fatal shooting incident, apparently due to internal rivalries within the ruling party, resulted in four deaths including that of Presidential Adviser and former MP Baratha Lakshman Premachandra. MP Duminda Silva was seriously injured in the incident and transferred to a hospital in Singapore. The exact circumstances remain unclear, but Mr Silva is wanted for questioning following a court order.
The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, a government-appointed commission to examine events relating to the Civil War from 2002 to 2009, handed over its report to the President on 20 November. It was tabled in Parliament on 16 December. The UK government is considering its contents.
Separately, former Chief of the Sri Lankan army Sarath Fonseka was found guilty in the “white flag” case, which revolved around comments he made in a newspaper interview that Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa had ordered the killing of LTTE members carrying white flags. Mr Fonseka was sentenced to three years in prison for spreading rumours likely to cause public alarm and disorder.
Sri Lanka’s combined third and fourth periodic reports were considered by the Committee Against Torture (CAT) in November. The Committee welcomed Sri Lanka’s ratification of an Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and noted Sri Lanka’s efforts to reform laws regarding domestic violence, child recruitment and to adopt national action plans for children and human rights. It also highlighted a number of ongoing concerns about torture in Sri Lanka, including ongoing allegations of wide-spread torture, failure to uphold judicial and procedural safeguards of detainees, the alleged existence of secret detention centres, enforced disappearances and deaths in detention. The Government of Sri Lanka maintained that the country had a zero-tolerance policy towards torture.
At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth, Prime Minister David Cameron urged President Rajapaksa to do more on human rights and reconciliation.
Quarter three update: 30 September 2011
There has been continued international focus on the need for accountability in Sri Lanka. In early August, the Sri Lankan government issued two reports on the conduct of its military operations and its humanitarian response. It also launched a documentary, “Lies Agreed Upon”, which disputed the allegations made in Channel 4’s “Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields” documentary. The government shifted from its previous stance of “zero civilian casualties”, acknowledging that it was impossible to avoid civilian casualties during the war but disputing the figure of up to 40,000 quoted by Channel 4. On 12 September, the UN Secretary General submitted his Panel of Experts’ report on accountability in Sri Lanka to the president of the UN Human Rights Council. The UK repeated its call for credible action on accountability before the end of the year and encouraged Sri Lanka’s Lessons Learned and Reconciliation to address these issues.
The Sri Lankan government has made progress towards post-war normalisation in some areas. On 4 July the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence lifted pre-travel approval restrictions for foreign passport holders, except for journalists, visiting northern Sri Lanka. The last of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from a camp in Jaffna returned to their places of origin and the government shut down the camp on 4 August. Figures from the UN state a total of 216,400 IDPs have now returned to their home areas and the government announced on 20 September that it intended to close the final IDP camp, Menik Farm. The president announced that the State of Emergency was no longer required on 25 August and the Emergency Regulations were subsequently removed on 30 August. But the practical impact of their removal remains unclear as the government amended other legislation to replace some of the powers that would lapse with the end of the emergency.
Important challenges remain. Many IDPs continue to live with host families, in temporary accommodation or in camps. The government retains extraordinary legal powers under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, including the ability to detain suspects for up to 18 months without charge. When British nationals are arrested under the Act, we provide appropriate consular assistance and raise our concerns as necessary with the government.
There was widespread fear and panic over media reports of “Grease Yakkas” (Grease Devils) carrying out night-time assaults on women in rural areas of Sri Lanka in July and August. In some areas, local communities carried out vigilante attacks on suspected “Grease Yakkas” and protested over their alleged links to local military forces. Three people died, dozens were injured and hundreds were arrested as a result of vigilante attacks and clashes between law enforcement authorities and civilians in some areas of the country.
Elections were held for 65 local bodies on 23 July. Intra-party violence resulted in one death and opposition parties alleged intimidation, misuse of state property and restrictions on freedom of assembly and speech in the north.
The Secretary of State for Defence,
Quarter two update: 30 June 2011
On 12 April, the UN Panel of Experts, appointed by the UN Secretary General to advise him on accountability issues for alleged war crimes committed by both sides during the military conflict, presented its report. This was publicly released on 25 April. The report found “credible allegations, which if proven, indicate that a wide range of serious violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights’ law were committed by both the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), some of which would amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity”. On 27 April, the UK welcomed the report’s publication and encouraged Sri Lanka to use its response and the report’s recommendations to strengthen the process of accountability.
On 27 May, the UN Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Mr Christof Heyns, reported that footage of alleged war crimes previously shown on Channel 4 was authentic and that events depicted did occur. On 14 June, Channel 4 broadcast a documentary entitled “Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields”, which showed new footage of alleged human rights’ abuses committed by the Sri Lankan army during the final stages of the military conflict in May 2009. In response, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Alistair Burt called for an independent, thorough and credible investigation to address allegations that war crimes were committed by both sides. Mr Burt said that the UK expects to see progress by the end of the year. The Prime Minister speaking in Parliament on 15 June reiterated the need for an investigation. On 15 June, the Sri Lankan government refuted claims that civilians were targeted, as suggested in the documentary.
At the end of May, factory workers protested in the Export Promotion Zone near Colombo’s international airport against a new pension scheme. The police deployed tear gas and live rounds of ammunition, physically assaulted workers and damaged private property. Over 200 workers and 15 policemen were injured. One protestor subsequently died of gunshot injuries. On 1 June, Sri Lanka’s most senior police officer, Inspector General of Police Mahinda Balasuriya, submitted his resignation to the President.
During a meeting with the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister on 6 May, our High Commissioner raised concerns on media freedom, including attacks on Lanka E-News and the case of missing journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda who, on 8 June, had been missing for 500 days.
On 16 June, military personnel disrupted a local election-related Tamil National Alliance (TNA) party meeting in Jaffna. The TNA alleged that attendees and TNA MPs’ police protection officers were threatened and assaulted. Our High Commissioner discussed the incident separately with the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister and Attorney General. Our Deputy High Commissioner also raised our concerns with the Jaffna Security Force Commander. The government said the TNA had not had permission to use a public address system and that events had been exaggerated.
The Sri Lankan government continues to release detained former LTTE fighters, with the number remaining in custody given as 3,512 at the time of writing. This figure has not been independently verified.
Quarter one update: 31 March 2011
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Alistair Burt visited Sri Lanka in February. He met a diverse range of civil society groups and humanitarian organisations and discussed human rights issues with senior members of the Sri Lanka government, including the minister for external affairs, the minister for economic development and the defence secretary. He also visited Jaffna in Sri Lanka’s north, where he met resettled families and visited a rehabilitation centre for former LTTE fighters.
Between January and March, Sri Lanka made some progress towards implementing the interim recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission. In January, the president appointed a four-member legal team to review the cases of detained LTTE suspects and recommend whether they should be sent for rehabilitation or trial. The legal team has recommended that over 600 detainees be released from prison and sent to rehabilitation. The government has also announced that it will make the list of former LTTE fighters detained in rehabilitation centres available to families with missing relatives, although this has not yet fully happened.
On 30 January, the offices of Lanka-E-News, an independent news website, were set on fire by an unidentified gang, and the editor of a provincial newspaper was attacked in the Eastern Province in early February. There were a number of violent incidents in Jaffna in January, including murders and abductions. These appear to have abated but civil society groups and Tamil politicians have complained about the increase in security, and in particular the requirement for all civilians living in parts of northern Sri Lanka to register with the army. Legal action is continuing against this process of “forced registration”. Each month, parliament has continued to vote to renew the State of Emergency and the associated Emergency Regulations remain in place. The government appointed new Commissioners to the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka and the Commission held its inaugural meeting in late February.
Local elections were held in Sri Lanka on 17 March. The run-up to the polls was marked by reports of violence and violations of elections law. The media reports that at least two people were killed and a number of persons were injured in disputes between political factions. The UK supported a public statement by EU Heads of Mission in Colombo, which called on all political parties to support a peaceful environment to allow people to choose their political leadership in a free, fair and unbiased manner.