An interview conducted by the Asian Human Rights Commission. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the AHRC.
Nishanthi, 42 is a housewife with two children and a husband who works as a veterinary assistant in Korea. Two years ago she joined a support group run by a local human rights organization, and now regularly accompanies victims of rape and torture on their journeys to, through and from court trials.
What do you think about the policing system in Sri Lanka?
Before I joined this programme my impression wasn’t so bad. I knew the police weren’t fair, and knew that people can’t expect much help from them, but I didn’t know it was as bad as this. Now I know what is happening. I know how bad it really is if someone goes to the police station for justice.
Although I don’t have a good image of the police, there are also some who work in a positive manner and do some good.
What do you think about the relationship between the police and the public?
The police are very powerful; they can do anything they want. They can kill the innocent like us, they can produce any evidence and they can write any statement on their own; the people think that they are very powerful. But they should learn how to treat people. They should be very kind and should work for the sake of humanity. Humanity is the most valuable thing.
Some police officers are very money-minded. If a man can spend money he can do whatever he wants – the police will accept or follow their opinions. If for example I have a personal matter or disagreement with a man, if I have some money I can give it to the police and put that man in trouble. It is like the police can be rented or hired.
Normally army people or soldiers become very strong and can still treat people well. But the police act in a lowly way and do not treat people kindly. I hope that the police can learn to be friends with people and treat them with respect, in a humane way.
If you had to face some problem, what steps would you take?
I would try to go to the police station because that is the only place we can go to for help, but if I couldn’t get the result that I wanted I would turn to some of these organizations – the NGOs.
What do you think about the use of torture?
If parents cannot beat their children and even teachers cannot beat their students, then a police officer cannot assault a person. There is no law or right allowing police to torture. If a man should be punished he should go through the legal system and be punished fairly. To assault is illegal for anyone. And when there is torture, the victim will not always give the correct information.
I think that people feel very helpless. But the responsibility is with the community. The community has to inform the higher ranking officers that some police officers are not working properly, so that they take the necessary steps. [The community] also has to be educated more on these things.
The government and the authorities are responsible, and the community should also inform the government, such as the Inspector General of Police or the President, when something bad is happening so that they can take the necessary steps. Unfortunately I feel that the government is not listening to the community, so we have to strive harder for it.
For myself, I could see that this organization was doing very good work with people seeking justice; I admired it. I was a housewife and so rather than spending the day at home I would rather join them and work with people who need help.
What do you think about the law relating to domestic violence?
I know that there is one. According to Sri Lankan culture, when disputes happen inside the house, for example between parents and their children or a husband and wife, they usually try to solve the problems themselves and don’t feel free to talk about it openly. Usually the wife will bear the problems, so this law is probably not used very much. I think if a wife goes to a police station and tries to take legal action against her husband, when she goes back home she will be beaten by her husband.
