Hong Kong, December 30, 2008
The AHRC wrote today to the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki Moon, calling for diplomatic engagement with all the members of the United Nations and the Sri Lankan government regarding several incidents, ‘which are not only shocking but are, in our view, war crimes and gross abuses that violate all the basic norms of human decency and human rights.’
The first of these incidents was the gruesome treatment of a woman, said to be an LTTE combatant, whose ordeal was recorded by video and published in two websites. The AHRC wrote, that as described in the videos, the naked body of this person is so gruesomely and disrespectfully treated in a manner that too difficult to describe. The AHRC further said that, judging by the language used, the physical features and the names by which the persons addressed each other and their dress it was not difficult to identify the perpetrators. The AHRC said that: would not be difficult at all for the Sri Lankan government to investigate the matter if it had the political will to do so. Even though this has taken place within a war, most persons would categorize it as a most condemnable and cruel act which would require action on the part of any government.
The second act which constitutes a war crime is the abduction, by the LTTE, of 16 children between the ages of 12 and 18 from an orphanage, maintained by priests for children stranded due to the war. This incident was reported by the Sri Lankan government in one of its websites and has been reproduced in several publications. The orphanage is situated at Dharmapuram in Kilinochchi and the incident occurred on December 26, 2008. The children who were crying and resisting their abduction were taken, allegedly after the two priests, who were in charge of the orphanage, were attacked. The children are likely to be trained and used as child soldiers.
The AHRC further mentioned the publication of the names of lawyers who regularly appear for detainees charged with terrorist activities in the Ministry of Defence website. Such publications were made on December 23, 2008 and also in November 2008. Earlier, a letter was widely distributed which warned lawyers that, ¡¥In the future all those that represent the interests of the terrorist will be subject to the same fate that these terrorist mete out to our innocent people.
The AHRC said, “This attempt to deny legal representation to alleged terrorists goes against all the basic principles of justice and human rights. It is virtually a call for the use of courts for rubber stamping orders while denying due process to the accused.”
The AHRC further pointed out that under the present circumstances such actions will not be investigated and none of the perpetrators will be prosecuted. The degeneration of this situation indicates the real possibility that such actions will spill over to civil society which may result in the deepening of hostilities among the communities in the country. Neither the Sinhala community nor the Tamil community at large has engaged in attacks on each other so far. Despite of the prolonged conflict, the communities have maintained their restraint and have not taken part in the conflict. However, the degeneration of this conflict is likely to have an enormous demoralising impact on both communities and such demoralisation can then be easily manipulated by unscrupulous elements for the purpose of attacks on civilian communities, the like of which the world has witnessed in many other places.
The AHRC stated that, “We are writing this letter to you to bring to your notice some further examples of the prevailing situation, with the hope that you will exercise your office for diplomatic engagement with the other members of the United Nations which are under your charge and also with the Sri Lankan government in order that the seriousness of the situation can be dealt with within the principles that the United Nations is committed to uphold. Dedicated and committed diplomatic efforts on your part are now necessary if this conflict is not to escalate into something worse. In recent times there have been several occasions when the delays in diplomatic engagement have lead to carnage in many places. Therefore, we urge you to take appropriate action in causing inquiries and to take all other actions necessary under the present circumstances.’
