Serious doubts and suspicions have arisen about the investigation into the attempted arson of the Human Rights Commission (HRC) of Sri Lanka offices in Colombo, on October 11, 2005.
Despite significant local and international pressure, two months after the arson attempt no one has yet been arrested or brought to court for this serious crime and act of intimidation on the primary state agency established for the protection and promotion of human rights. While arson is a serious crime in itself, the arson of state property is more so. Even the theft of state property is a non-bailable offense in Sri Lanka.
The Criminal Investigation Department of Sri Lanka has conducted its inquiry and the Human Rights Commission has announced that it is conducting its own inquiry. While some police reports give the impression that the arson was attempted by some drivers working for the HRC who are afraid of certain inquiries, the HRC itself has yet to make any public statements regarding the incident. The inquiry has been said to be complicated, but the factors that make it so have not been revealed. This gives rise to the suspicion that an attempt to cover up the real culprits is being made.
If the culprits are in fact drivers of the HRC, they should be arrested and prosecuted. As of yet however, no one has been arrested or brought to court, leading to concerns that the culprits are not being apprehended as their testimony may then implicate others. It is also possible that the involvement of the drivers is a fabrication to discourage further criminal investigations. In either case, unless a proper explanation is given to the public and criminal proceedings are initiated at the courts, the credibility of both the Criminal Investigation Department as well as the HRC will be undermined.
Suspicions of a cover up are encouraged by earlier incidents of theft at HRC, where although the culprits were identified, no action was taken. One such incident took place during the term of the previous commissioners. Neither they nor the new commissioners, who were also aware of the incident, have taken any action against those responsible.
The arson attack on the HRC is well known in the country and abroad. Any cover up of this incident will therefore affect the HRC’s credibility as well as demoralize its staff. It will also question the Sri Lankan governments declared commitment to strengthen the HRC. Above all, it will cause victims of human rights abuse as well as other civil groups to doubt the capacity of the Commission to carry out its mandate of human rights protection and promotion. As an organisation calling for transparency from all other agencies, the HRC cannot survive without being an example of such transparency itself. The Asian Human Rights Commission thus calls upon the HRC to make a clear public statement about the state of the inquiry and to ensure that all culprits are brought to justice.
