Issue No. 127 October - December

Human Rights Review : October - December Institute of Human Rights 2

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Editorial 3

Current issues : Media Under Attack • Murder with impunity 5 • Massive protest against attack on journalists 6 • Tamil Journalist arrested at BIA

War Crimes • G.L. greeted with uproar in London 7 • ‘No letter sent to UN after withdrawal of first’ - White Flag Case

Breakdown of Law & Order • Public Library comes under attack, again 8 • Is the JVP behind the campus turmoil? 9 • Tourist at Mihintale harassed by goons 10 • Prison workers behind attack on police? - SP among 44 injured 11 • University crises • Prison mayhem

Situation in the North & East • JVP MP assaulted in Jaffna 12 • People threatened from making submissions to LLRC • ‘Bitterness towards the LTTE has not translated into goodwill towards 13 the government’ • Will we ever learn? 14

Unit Reports Legal Unit 15 Restoration & Protection Unit 16 Education Unit 18

Staff Information 20

Edited by Layout designed by Leela Isaac Hashini Rajaratna

Human Rights Review : October - December 2 Institute of Human Rights

3 EDITORIAL

DIFFERENT FORMS OF TERRORISM

TTE terrorism ended with the death of its leader Prabakaran in May 2009. But other forms of L terrorism seem to have erupted in the country to keep the government busy waging many more wars on terror. One such war was declared on narcotics, alcohol and cigarettes and we are told it has been a success, in the case of cigarettes.

Now, there is a kind of terrorism in the Universities. A vice chancellor has been assaulted and a minister has been jeered at. Students have also forcibly entered the ministry of higher edu- cation premises and destroyed public property. As a result Udul Premaratne, the convener of the Inter University students Federation has been arrested. Almost all our universities are in turmoil and the government points a finger at the JVP and its allies. Could the JVP alone bring about such unrest in the universities or is this also part of an international conspiracy to destabilise ? One never knows.

There’s another kind of terrorism in the prisons. Prisoners and prison guards have report- edly attacked the police who were carrying out a raid. The minister of Rehabilitation and Prison Re- forms has said that he is not aware of any such clashes but thinks it is possible, “I cannot recom- mend any prison officer as they are the most corrupt in the public sector”, he has said. Fortunately was not involved in these clashes, at the moment he seems to be fighting to keep the rain water out of his tiny cell.

“Paang terrorism or American wheat flour terrorism” is seen by Minister as a deliberate attempt by America and the West against the sovereignty of Sri Lanka. It not only deprives our paddy farmers of their due profits but also makes our people unhealthy. Sri Lankans should be more patriotic and eat more rice instead of wheat is the minister’s advice to the people. Wheat flour based food items have been banned from school canteens, hospitals and prisons. But so far those have not been banned in parliament where bread rolls, sandwiches and butter cakes are freely served.

Then there are the armed gangs that terrorise the people in the North. As Dr. M. Sarvana- than points out in an interview with Sergei De Silva Ranasinghe, “Although LTTE terror doesn’t ex- ist any more, Certain negative aspects of the LTTE era stubbornly persist in the North (particularly in Jaffna) with a new role player, albeit, at a much smaller scale than that of the LTTE. The EPDP (The Elam People’s Democratic Party), a pro-government militia, cum political party headed by a Cabinet Minister has filled the boots of the LTTE in certain illegal activities such as extortion, kid- napping for ransom…”

Could the same minister’s armed gangs have been involved in the attack on the JVP politi- cians when they visited Jaffna? JVP MP has said, “The gang came and tried to abduct our leader. I tried to prevent it and they assaulted me severely. These at- tackers spoke in fluent Sinhala. We suspect that this is a state-sponsored gang”. A few govern- ment supporters say it’s the Tamil residents in that area who attacked the JVP parliamentarians. But the injured MP denied it, on the contrary the Tamil people had saved him from the armed gang, he maintains. As we all know, the attackers will never be found.

CAFFE (The campaign for free and fair elections) complains that many people who wanted to make their submissions to the LLRC (Lessons learnt and reconciliation commission) in Kayts were threatened by an armed gang. ( November 18th) Could it be the same gang? The government says it’s unaware of any such incident and that is the end of the matter.

The controversial gambling bill (Casino Regulatory Bill) has been passed by a majority of 81 votes. According to the Bill anyone who wishes to operate a Casino can do so, in an area desig- nated by the minister. It legalises gambling. One would have expected a burst of moral outrage from the JHU parliamentarians. But they remained silent showing their approval. While the moral- ity or immorality of gambling could be debated, there is no doubt that gambling is also addictive (Continued to page 04)

Human Rights Review : October - December 3 Institute of Human Rights

4 EDITORIAL

(Continued from page 03) like narcotics, liquor and cigarettes. Casinos can create compulsive gamblers. It also breeds crime, specially where politicians consider themselves above the law. Casinos also encourage the con- sumption of alcohol and global sex trafficking. According to the teachings of the Buddha drinking and gambling are among things that can destroy a person. But the JHU, the custodians of Bud- dhism don’t seem to see anything wrong in promoting casinos as long as it promotes our tourist industry. Strange that Wimal Weerawansa does not see casino culture as another brand of terror- ism from America and the West trying to destroy our Sinhala Buddhist culture!

Terrorism seems to be lurking in some form or other behind the apparent peace and pros- perity enjoyed by the people. And so the government is forced to increase its defense expenditure, while asking the people to tighten their belts and face the rising cost of living. There is very little protest from the people because they seem to have understood the government’s dilemma. Cynics of course say this fear of terrorism is used by those in power to curb the freedom of the people and keep them firmly under control. Just this week when there was an island wide power failure there were people who feared it could be the work of the Tigers who are still moving around. Take away this fear of terrorism in some form; all hell would break loose with the people demanding their political, civil and economic rights. That definitely would be disastrous for the government.

Recently Sonia Gandhi said that although India has progressed in many ways its “moral uni- verse is shrinking”. In Sri Lanka, has it shrunk or completely disappeared? In India some of the corrupt ministers are sometimes forced to resign. In Sri Lanka,-never, in fact they seem to be re- warded. One could of course argue that our moral universe firmly based on Mahinda Chinthanaya has in fact expanded, like our cabinet of ministers where among the ninety one (91) there is not one single corrupt minister!

A poem about the burning of the Jaffna Library in May 1981

Last night “Alright, then I dreamt Hide the corpse.” Buddha was shot dead The ministers return. by the police, guardians of the law. The men in civies His body drenched in blood dragged the corpse on the steps into the library. of the Jaffna library!* They heaped the books Ninety thousand in all, Under cover of darkness and lit the pyre came the ministers. with the Cikalokavadda Sutta. “His name is not on our list, Thus the remains Why did you kill him?” Of the Compassionate One they ask angrily. were burned to ashes along with the Dhammapada. “No sirs, no, There was no mistake. ♦ The Jaffna Public Library was burned down Without killing him in an incident of ethnic violence. It was impossible ♦ M A Nuhman is a professor in the Dept of to harm even a fly- Tamil at the Uni. Of Peradeniya. He has Therefore…,” they stammered. published many poems and works of liter- ary criticism. Translated by S Pathmanathan

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5 CURRENT ISSUES

MURDER WITH IMPUNITY

Journalism has long been a socially incompatible profession in Sri Lanka. The dangers associated with the job are disproportionate to the pay and levels of appreciation for your work are diverse and subjective.

The Committee to Protect Journalists says that since 1999, 24 jour- nalists have been murdered in Sri Lanka. Reporters Beyond Borders puts the number at 25 since the year 2000. The Free Media Movement of Sri Lanka puts the figure of murdered journalists and media service personnel at a whopping 38 since the year 2005. Most of them have never found justice.

Impunity in the killing of journalists is not uncommon, neither is it something new to the country. Over many years successive political regimes have failed repeatedly to protect and provide the security necessary for the sufficient functioning of the Fourth Estate.

October 19 was the 10th anniversary of the murder of Tamil journal- ist Mylvaganam Nimalarajan. He was shot dead at his home on October 19, 2000; his killers injured three members of his family, including his parents.

Nimalarajan, working for the international media, was presumed to have been killed for his coverage of the election violence before and during the 2000 Parliamentary Elections. Reporters Beyond Borders also stated that several suspects who had been arrested in connection with the killing were released in 2002 after a change of government. The authorities have not seen it fit to actively look into his murder since.

In the morning of January 8, 2009, Founder Editor of The Sunday Leader, Lasantha Wickrematunge was gunned down as he drove to work by assassins on motorcycles. While onlookers rushed him to hospital, his mobile phone mysteriously disappeared. It was later found in the possession of a three-wheel driver who claimed to have bought it from a man who had stolen it from the hospital. Police later arrested six of the gunmen on alleged STF bikes, but they were later released citing insufficient evidence. Lasantha’s killers are still at large. Taraki Sivaram was a popular Tamil journalist. He was kid- napped by four men in a white van on April 28, 2005, in front of the Bambalapitiya police station. His body was found the next day near the Parliament. He had been beaten and shot in the head.

None of the killers of these journalists have ever been found. With Sri Lanka supposedly reaching a new age of democracy and justice, is it not appropriate to ask the question as to why these killers still roam free? Is our law enforcement so incompetent that it fails repeatedly to apprehend such brutal murderers? Or is it that political will currently does not back such attempts at enforcing justice? Perhaps the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Committee should take a look. -Sunday Leader - 24/10/2010

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6 CURRENT ISSUES

Massive protest against attack on journalists the attack on journalists which indicates that journalists no longer have any freedom to con- group of journalists holding past few years journalists in this tinue their profession. The attack A placards and chanting slo- country have been assaulted, kid- on journalists last Thursday was gans urging the authorities to take napped, murdered and some were not an attack simply on journalists, immediate action against Police- forced to flee the country. Now, but a massive blow against all men who attacked the journalists after the implementation of the those who value democracy. We last week. 18th amendment the situation has should not allow this agenda to Pic by Kithsiri de Mel worsened. The attack on journal- continue in the country,” Free Me- By Lakna Paranamanna ists last Thursday makes it evident dia Movement Convener Sunil and Nabeela Hussain that journalists no longer have the Jayasekara said yesterday. Hundreds of journalists, media freedom to engage in their duties. rights activitists, trade unionists The Media Identity Card issued by and politicians staged a protest the Media Minister no longer near the Lipton Circus yesterday serves any purpose,” Working against the Police attack on jour- Journalists Association National nalists last Thursday at the Higher Organizer Gnanasiri Koththigoda Education Ministry. said at the protest pointing out The protestors wore black bands, that journalists were severely at- carried placards and chanted slo- tacked by the Police after their Me- gans against the police claiming dia IDs were checked. that the attack on journalists was a “The past few years have not been deliberate move while they urged a favourable period for the journal- the authorities to immediately take ists and the situation seems to action against the policemen who keep turning worse each day. Even attacked the journalists. “For the President Rajapaksa has accepted -Daily Mirror - 20/10/2010

Tamil Journalist Arrested At BIA From a song dedicated to

A London based Tamil journalist was arrested at the President Rajapakese’s mother Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), Wednesday 17th by officers from the Sri Lanka State Intelligence Agency, Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka reported. Karthigesu Thirulogasundar, a British passport holder “ Mother, are you watching was arrested while trying to visit his sick mother and is from heaven, as the son, currently being held in an unknown location, JDS said. Thirulogasundar is said to be currently working as a full who the gods and the Brahmas time journalist for London based radio station IBC and is sent to your womb also affiliated with the London based TV channels from golden palaces, is protect- Deepam TV and GTV. Police spokesperson, SP Prashan- ing the nation.” tha Jayakody however said that he is unaware of the inci- dent and the circumstances surrounding the journalist’s -Sunday Leader - 14/11/2010 arrest. -Sunday Leader - 21/11/2010

Human Rights Review : October - December 6 Institute of Human Rights

7 CURRENT ISSUES

G.L. Greeted With Uproar In London pointed by the SL government should coordinate with UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon’s advisory panel Foreign Minister G.L Peiris walked into an and conduct a credible independent investigation on uproar on October 17 when he was greeted with pic- the alleged war crimes in SL’. Hague further added tures of LTTE cadres allegedly tortured by the Sri that the ‘SL government must demonstrably prove Lanka Army which were published in the British its absolute commitment to media freedom, respect press. G.L. Peiris denied that the pictures were au- for human rights laws and democracy’. thentic and UK press quoted him as saying that they The British Human Rights movement is noto- were ‘doctored’. riously pithy and it has previously turned away world When Prof. Peiris met British Foreign Secre- leaders suspected of human rights violations with the tary William Hague later; the latter issued a very threat of arrest warrants. strong statement following the meeting. He insisted that the ‘Truth and Reconciliation Commission’ ap- -Sunday Leader - 24/10/2010 ‘No letter sent to UN after withdrawal of first’ - White Flag Case

The Permanent Represen- Excellency’s Government with re- DSG: Did you see the report writ- tative of the UN in Sri Lanka Shen- gard to the circumstances of the ten by the International Crises uka Girani Seneviratne giving death of three senior representa- Group? evidence before the trial-at-bar in tives of the Liberation Tigers of The witness confirming that she the White Flag case stated the De- Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Mr. Bal- had seen it further said the report fence Secretary had asserted that asingham Nadesan, Mr Seevarat- was titled ‘War crimes in Sri General Sarath Fonseka was re- nam Pulidevan and Mr. Ramesh, as Lanka’ published by the Interna- sponsible for the tactical plan- well as of members of their fami- tional Crises Group on May ning for all areas in the lies on the nights of May 17 and 17, 2010 and it was a Non- Army during the war against the 18, 2009. Governmental Organisation which LTTE and throughout his career he Witness: Yes. analyses conflict situations and was involved in anti-terrorist ac- DSG: On May 18, 2009 crises. tivities. UNO asked for a clarification on The Board of Trustees are She said this when she the deaths of Balasingham Nade- the former UN Secretary Gen- was cross examined by the Senior san, Pulidevan and Ramesh. eral, Kofi Annan and Chris Defence Counsel Nalin Ladduwa- Witness: Yes. Patten the former European Com- hetty on the foot note in the report Witness (Reads the paragraph) missioner of External Relations. on War Crimes in Sri Lanka by the “When Messrs Nadesan, Pulidevan She said the concerned report over International Crises Group on May and Ramesh walked towards the the conflicts was issued on May 17, 2009. SLA positions carrying white cloth 18, 2010 and read chapter 7 in the in the early hours of May 18, 2009 report which stated they were shot DSG: (Showing the Sunday leader soldiers opened fire on them and when they walked to the SL Army of December 13, 2009 to the wit- killed them. carrying white cloth. ness): Have you read this paper? DSG: According to that letter they She said the first letter Witness: Yes, I read it on the were killed by the SL army and the sent by her to the UNO was with- internet on December 13, 2009. allegation was made by General drawn two days later as it was in- DSG: Did the UN seek any clarifi- Sarath Fonseka during his inter- complete and the clarifications on cation from you over the news view with the Sunday Leader? the Sunday Leader news was not item? Witness: Yes. The clarification was included. Thereafter, no letter was Witness: Yes, A letter dated De- sought from me over this news sent to the UNO as the proper in- cember 18, 2009 was sent to me DSG: What steps did you take af- vestigations had not concluded by Mr. Philip Alston regarding the ter receiving the letter? yet. She contended that the Learnt news item. Witness: I informed the Secretary Lesson and Reconciliation Commis- He asked for a clarification from of the Ministry of Disaster Manage- sion (LLRC) would initiate a proper me on behalf of the Sri Lankan ment and Human Rights, the Sec- investigation. Government. retary of Ministry of Foreign Af- -Daily Mirror - 24/11/2010 DSG: In the second para of the fairs, the Attorney General and the letter it appears as “I write to your Defence Secretary.

Human Rights Review : October - December 7 Institute of Human Rights

8 CURRENT ISSUES

Jaffna Public Library Comes Under Attack, Again

Pandemonium reigned in Jaffna when the not been present when they identified themselves to Public Library was stormed by hundreds of unarmed staff members at the library. He said however that assailants on October 23. the mob, dressed in plainclothes, arrived in a num- Hundreds of people in over 30 buses stormed ber of buses, filling up an already overcrowded park- the library at about 7 pm, says retired Municipal ing lot. Council Commissioner C.V.K Sivagnanam in a letter Although Sivagnanam said in his letter that to President Rajapaksa, dated October 27. security forces had assisted the attackers, the Mu- The Sunday Leader sought clarification from TNA nicipal Council employee told The Sunday Leader M.P. . He corroborated the that they had in fact attempted to disperse the large story as written in the letter by Sivagnanam to the crowd following the altercation between library staff President to be accurate. and the mob. When questioned on the identity of the as- He added that the security personnel had sailants he claimed that they claimed to be members been stationed at a nearby checkpoint. They had of the Presidential Secretariat. However, he main- tried to restore order, he claimed, but were too few tains that the security forces were not involved in in number to effectively intervene. The official had the incident but only attempted to calm the situa- not entered the library itself and so was unable to tion. “They however were unable to do so due to the comment on the events that had allegedly transpired insufficient number of troops,” he said. He went on inside the premises. to criticize the government for not having provided Police arrived at the scene shortly afterwards sufficient security for the Tamils in Jaffna. but were too late in apprehending any suspects as Military Spokesman Major General Ubhaya they had already fled the scene. When contacted by Medawela claimed that no incident had been re- The Sunday Leader police in Jaffna stated that due ported involving security forces. to this being an ongoing investigation they were un- The persons identified themselves as being able to comment. Attempts to contact the Presiden- from the Presidential Secretariat when staff and se- tial Secretariat led to officials passing the call back curity guards prevented them from entering, accord- and forth from the media division without any com- ing to Sivagnanam. He asserts that despite pleas ment being made. from staff present the men forcibly entered the li- The Sunday Leader also contacted the Gov- brary, with the assistance of security personnel. Af- ernor General Major General G. A. Chandrasiri’s of- ter entering, the mob went on a rampage, removing fice in Jaffna to obtain details of the incident. They books from their shelves and strewing them across refused to comment instead redirecting all questions the floor. to the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo who once This incident was witnessed by numerous again claimed to have no knowledge of the incident. people, as the library auditorium was hosting the annual convention of the Sri Lanka Medical Associa- Presidential Secretary, Lalith Weeratunga, tion. could not be reached for comment. The Sunday Leader was unable to contact Police Spokesperson Preshantha Jayakody denied Sivagnanam for a comment on the letter. However, a any knowledge of the incident. Municipal Council employee, who requested anonym- ity, claimed to have witnessed the entire incident. He -Sunday Leader - 31/10/2010 was unable to confirm or deny if the assailants were indeed from the Presidential Secretariat, as he had

Human Rights Review : October - December 8 Institute of Human Rights

9 CURRENT ISSUES The real problem is that the universities are in ruin Is the JVP behind the campus turmoil?

ne version going round is that the JVP is pulling the strings from behind, planning and organizing the O clashes in the university campuses. This is conceding too much capability to the JVP at the present time for two reasons; firstly its influence among university students has diminished considerably from peak days; secondly neither the JVP nor the devil himself could achieve anything on this scale unless the univer- sity system was already in a state of ruin. Subject to these two caveats I am prepared to believe that the JVP is benefiting from and supporting students who are opposed to private universities, and in conflict with the government and university authorities on practical and policy matters. My main point of reservation is that this government habitually lies through its teeth; this has been our ex- perience through the war, the abuse of state power, the Mervyn incidents, meddling with the high judiciary, and election malpractices. Given this background I intend to exercise a degree of reserve in jumping to con- clusions until a lot more information comes to light. Take the allegation that a Vice-Chancellor sent adult fe- males for virginity checks at a hospital. I have had students swear to me that it is true; I have heard people refute it as utter balderdash; so what are we to believe? If true the Vice-Chancellor should have been re- lieved of his post by due process and after inquiry. If false he should have been exonerated by an inquiry that the public could trust and his accusers chastised. No inquiry has been held and that makes me curious and suspicious.

Who has the moral authority to preach?

With young people, precept and preaching can only go that far, what counts for more is example. The young have to believe in their parents, their teachers, their president, and that confidence has to be earned not de- mand. Violate every norm of moral conduct and you will not get it; worse, you will get discourtesy and rebel- lion. Can the political leadership of this country demand respect from its youth? Have not the young seen the Mervyn and samuradhi officer incident, the faked up “inquiry” (shame on the SLFP high command)? Do they not know of his reappointment which has brought shame and suspicion on the president of this country? And most important, this is not a rare exception, rather it is but one among scores of acts of moral turpitude and gross impunity in the violation of ethical norms. Who in this government, from top to bottom, dare demand respect from the young! And speaking as a leftist, I will ask, who among our UPFA left leaders is not tainted with the same brush by the complicity of silent association? Will Vasu, Tissa or DEW go before the student population of this country and justify the numerous Mervyn incidents, the state, the assassinations, the conduct of the war, the behav- iour of their parliamentary and ministerial colleagues? They cannot! So you see my friends, that’s were the rot starts; don’t grumble about student unruliness when the leaders of the state have earned no respect. “Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye” (Mathew 7:5). And when the guardians of the state are fallen idols who shall restore society? The answer goes back to the Greeks but the Jefferson- ian version is the best known “I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves”. The final responsibility then falls upon us the people to bring order out of chaos in the universities, but we cannot do so unless we the people first exert ourselves to bring our leaders to heel. The root of the indiscip- line in the universities is that the people have not intervened to discipline political leaders who are running amuck, out of control. Yes, I know there is no perfect world and politicians everywhere are a lousy lot, but I put it to you dear reader, that in these times in Sri Lanka, the problem is exceptionally bad. (Continued on page 10)

Human Rights Review : October - December 9 Institute of Human Rights

10 CURRENT ISSUES

(Continued from page 09) Youth cannot be disciplined by the big stick alone, there has to be example. That will not come from the political leadership so the people must take it into their hands to rebuke a shameful leadership and chastise its errant youth. But the people are apathetic; they show no inclination to undertake either task. Then there is no alternative to patient conscience building in the population confident that eventually it will yield re- sults; what Lanka needs now is to grow the pool of builders. Is the JVP behind it? The damage the JVP did to the universities in 1970-71 is appalling. It turned them into contraptions where diversity of opinion was met with abuse and assault. In the early 1970s I was in the left tendency in the Samasamaja Party known as Vama Samasamajaya which took the JVP head-on exposing its infantile petty- bourgeois adventurism. I was one of the first theoretical critics of the JVP (Tharuna Ugathunge Desha- palanaya) in the early 1970s and faced a veritable tornado of abuse and threats. Halls of residence were hand-bomb factories; secret meetings were shrouded in the dead of night. A Vama public seminar at Vidyo- daya Campus was broken up; chairs and rotten vegetables hurled, pandemonium created. The attack was led by a now prominent cabinet minister. Nevertheless, neither this experience of 40 years ago, nor the Pol Pottian uprising of 1989-90 constitutes irrefutable proof that the JVP is instigating the current campus turmoil. In 1970-71 the JVP was visible; we knew its leaders and cadres on campus and confronted them, there was no secret about whose-who. This time if the JVP is involved it’s from behind a screen; but the government too is a barefaced liar, so what to believe? There are conjectures of the JVP stoking student unrest and of the government provoking a show- down to crack down on independent student societies. The JVP has influence in student politics but that is not proof of instigating mayhem as opposed to justifiable protest about lousy conditions. Let’s wait till more comes to light. The debacle of the universities is organic; the consequence of unremitting neglect. The JVP is benefiting from the turmoil, but the culprit over the years is the state, currently SB and the government. The tragedy is that there is no short-term fix. Throw out the hardcore, suspend the less recalcitrant, send in the cops, smash student societies, mobilise Mervyn’s goons - what problem is solved? Rebuilding public uni- versities is a long grind for which this government has neither stomach, nor cerebrum, nor scrotum. In the meantime, ah well, small mercies, private universities are a haven for rescuing the children of the wealthy. By Kumar David

Kudu Naufer runs narco racket Tourists At Mihintale from his prison cell Harassed By Goons

Notorious gangster ‘Kudu’ Naufer, serving a life The Tourist Guides Association (TGA) sentence at Bogambara for ordering the assassination told The Sunday Leader that tour guides have of Colombo High Court Judge Sarath Ambepitiya, is al- decided to exclude the Mihintale sacred area legedly running a major heroin distribution racket from from their programmes due to the continuous his cell. harassment the foreign tourists have under- Senior DIG Gamini Navaratne, in charge of the gone over the past few months from groups Central Range, told The Island that the police hadques- of gangsters in Mihintale. tioned Naufer after receiving information regarding his Meanwhile, Deputy Incumbent Mihintale Ra- activities. The DIG said that the recent arrest of a Pris- jamaha Viharaya, Ven. Walawahengunuwewe ons Department employee attached to the Bogambara Dhammarathana Thero told The Sunday jail had shed light on Naufer’s operations. Leader that this has become a nuisance even Prisons Reforms Minister Dew Gunasekera told to the local pilgrims and claimed that the Mi- The Island that there had been complaints of some Pris- hintale police have failed to take any action ons Department employees supporting criminals in their against these gangsters since they have po- nefarious activities. litical affiliations. - The Island - 06/11/2010 -Sunday Leader - 07/11/2010

Human Rights Review : October - December 10 Institute of Human Rights

11 CURRENT ISSUES Prison workers behind attack on police? - SP among 44 injured

section of the Welikada prison staff is alleged The police said that the convicts had been A to have instigated the inmates who set upon a prepared to resist the police operation. An officer special police squad during a search carried out at the said that the attackers had a large stock of stones ‘Chapel Ward’ yesterday morning. and targeted officers, most of whom received head injuries. Responding to a query by The Island, an- Officials say convicts had pounced on the un- other official said that the search had been launched armed officers shortly after they entered the com- to recover drugs and mobile phones. plex. The police had obtained a court order to The wounded officers are now receiving treat- search the prison. ment at the National Hospital, Colombo. Several Deputy Minister said that the police had been prison officers were also hit by stones during yester- compelled to intervene due to failure on the part of day’s riot. the prisons administration and the staff to take SP Jayakody said that the CID had been charge of the situation in prisons. called in to investigate the incident. He dismissed Prisons Reforms Minister Dew Ginasekera told reports of the elite STF being involved in the police The Island that a comprehensive inquiry would be operation. According to him, 70 police personnel had carried out to ascertain the circumstances leading to been assigned to carry out the search. the clash. -The Island - 08/11/2010

♦ 1989 : Martial law declared in Burma. Suu Kyi placed under Quote from Aung San Su Kyi … house arrest ♦ 1990 : Suu Kyis National League for Democracy Party wins “ I want to hear the voice of the people, 392 of 485 seats but Junta refuses to yield power ♦ 1991 : Release from house arrest but movements restricted after that we will decide what we want to ♦ 2000 : Returned to house arrest under State Protection Law. Released in 2002 do,” ♦ 2003: Detained again following clashes between her support- ers and pro-junta demonstrators She told a sea of followers outside her ♦ 2007 : Greets protesting Buddhist monks marching past her party headquarters. house in first public appearance since 2003 ♦ 2008 : House arrest extended for another year “I want to work with all democratic forces. ♦ 2009 : Sentenced to 18 months further house arrest after uninvited visitor swims to her house “I believe in human rights and I believe in ♦ Nov 7, 2010 : NLD boycotts election won by military-backed party the rule of law,” ♦ Nov 13, 2010 : Suu Kyi expected to be released as house arrest term expires

At least 44 policemen were hospitalized af- University crisis:Dons blame ter prisoners at the Welikada prison attacked them during a search operation to search for students, state and themselves hidden narcotics and cellular University lecturers yesterday blamed themselves, phones yesterday morn- ing. M students and the government for the collapse of the coun- HE Altogether AY 44 po- try’s university system which had gone into the extent of a l i c e N M officers and national crisis. SO two prison officers RI President of the University Lecturers for Democ- P have been admitted to the racy Chandana Abeyratne told a news conference yester- National Hospital and were being day that there is no way one could condone the violence treated for various injures sustained due to carried out by the students and the counter violence car- the attacks by prison inmates. ried out by others including the state. -Daily Mirror - 08/11/2010 -Daily Mirror - 04/11/2010

Human Rights Review : October - December 11 Institute of Human Rights

12 CURRENT ISSUES

JVP MP assaulted in Jaffna Gang tries to abduct member; MP three others assaulted

JVP MP Sunil Handunnetti and three JVP activists Rajalalithkumar and Liyanage, a journalist attached were assaulted by an unidentified gang in Jaffna last to the Lanka newspaper, were also injured in the inci- evening while they were having a meeting at the dent. Jaffna HQI Saman Chikera speaking to the residence of former TNA MP Mrs. Pathmini Sitham- Daily Mirror said that the JVP had not got the neces- paranathan. sary permission for the meeting or the signature Mr. Handunnetti, along with a few others, had gone campaign. to Jaffna to participate in a signature collection cam- He said that the party had not officially informed the paign being organized by the movement called “We Police about the campaign ‘We are Sri Lankans’ that are Sri Lankans’ asking for the safety of Tamil detain- is scheduled to take place today (15) JVP General ees. The event is scheduled to take place opposite Secretary Tilvin Siva told Daily Mirror that the party the Jaffna Bus Stand at 1.00pm today. would go ahead with the programme as planned The attackers who came on motor bikes have man- come what may. handled and assaulted the JVP members and civilians “We took part in one such event in Colombo too. present at that time. Police recorded statements from These attackers spoke in fluent Sinhala. We suspect the injured after the incident. that this is a state-sponsored gang,” he said. Mean- Mr. Handunnetti said, “The gang came and tried to while, EPDP Leader Minister con- abduct our Jaffna district leader Lalith Kumar. I tried demned the incident. to prevent it, and then they assaulted me severely. I By Kelum Bandara & Yohan Perera got a blow to my head.” Jaffna District JVP organizer -Daily Mirror - 15/11/2010

People threatened from making submissions to LLRC

The Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE) said yesterday that several people who came for- ward to make their submissions to the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) in Kayts Island in Jaffna recently were threatened or intimidated by an armed group.

CAFFE Spokesman, Keerthi Tennakoon said that the Election Monitor made these observations while monitoring the LLRC sessions held in the Jaffna district from November 11-14 last week.

However, the government said that they were unaware of any such incident. Media Centre for Na- tional Security, Director General, Lakshman Hulugalle told Daily Mirror yesterday that to his knowledge no such incidents of intimidation had taken place during LLRC sessions in the Kayts island last week. “I totally reject any such allegation. However if any such situation does take place, those who came before the LLRC to make a submission should make a complaint to the police or inform the commission. If the commission is informed about such a problem it will take adequate measures to ensure that the people are protected,” Hulugalle said.

He said that the LLRC has the fully authority to ask anyone to make a submission before the com- mission and that the people have the right to express their views before the commission as they wish.

- Daily Mirror - 18/11/2010

Human Rights Review : October - December 12 Institute of Human Rights

13 CURRENT ISSUES ‘Bitterness Towards The LTTE Has Not Translated Into Goodwill Towards The Government’

Excerpts from an interview given by Dr. Muttukrishna Sarvanathan to Sergei De Silva Ranasinghe. Dr. Saravanathan is the principal researcher at the Point Pedro Institute, which is a not-for-profit think tank, that provides analysis and advocacy on political and economic issues afflicting the Sri Lanka Tamil population in the North.

Q: Tell us about what has happened with regard to the implementation of the in the North and East of Sri Lanka since 1987, but especially since the end of the civil war? Where has it been implemented successfully and where is it lacking and why? A: Though Tamil language has been made an official language (in addition to the existing Sinhala language) in 1987, the implementation of that provision has been weak. The implementation of the twin official lan- guage policy remains weak even after the end of the war. Tamils receive official communications in Sinhala language not only in the North and East, but in other parts of the country (including Colombo) as well. Al- though the public administration within the North and East by and large is conducted in Tamil language, police stations in these areas record statements from the public in Sinhala language due to dearth of Tamil speaking police officers. The reason for this slow progress in implementation is lack of bureaucratic and political will to do so; be- cause if the government could spend almost USD 2 billion for defence (this year’s budget allocation) why cannot it fund the implementation of the dual language policy? In fact, I would argue that if the dual lan- guage usage is fully implemented, there could be significant cut in the annual defence expenditure. Nowa- days with automatic translation software, it wouldn’t be a big administrative problem to implement it. But, unfortunately, there does not seem to be any urgency on the part of the bureaucrats and politicians.

Q: Tell us about the general situation faced by Tamils in Sri Lanka since the defeat of the LTTE in May 2009? What has been achieved in terms of restoration of normality? What’s the general sen- timent of the civilian population towards the LTTE and to the GoSL? A: A great deal of normalcy has been established gradually since the end of the war; e.g. (i) several hith- erto closed roads have been opened-up for public use (A9 highway being the prime example), (ii) security check points have been drastically reduced both in the North and rest of the country, (iii) areas under high security zones have been cut back, (iv) security restrictions on certain vocations such as fishing have been lifted, (v) although the restriction on travel to Colombo (and rest of the country) from Jaffna (by way of ob- taining a pass from the army) has been done away with, the registration of household members at the local police station has been re-instituted in Colombo since May (after the general elections). Despite the positive trend noted above, certain negative aspects of the LTTE-era stubbornly persist in the North (particularly in Jaffna) with a new role-player, albeit at a much smaller scale than that of the LTTE. The Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), a pro-government militia cum political party headed by a cabinet minister Mr. Douglas Devananda, has filled the boots of the LTTE in certain illegal activities such as extortion, kidnapping for ransom, poaching Hindu temples and monopolising the supply of sand for con- struction purposes. The Maheshwari Nithiyam (Maheshwari Foundation — NGO arm of the EPDP a la Tamils’ Rehabilitation Organisation of the LTTE) monopolises the supply of sand for construction purposes within the peninsula (one customer who asked for refund due to unexplained delay in the supply of sand was threat- ened with death by the ‘pulanaivuthurai’ — intelligence wing — of the EPDP). Cable television service pro- viders in the peninsula are illegally taxed by the EPDP. Few school children were kidnapped for ransom in the run-up to the parliamentary elections, which were suspected to be by the EPDP but has ceased since then. In the same way the LTTE took over the manage- ment of several Hindu temples in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia through proxies to extort the financial resources of those temples (Kanaka Thurkkai Amman Temple in Ealing, West London, (Continued on page 14)

Human Rights Review : October - December 13 Institute of Human Rights

14 CURRENTARTICLES ISSUES

(Continued from page 13) being one such temple where Sockalingam Karunalingam was/is the proxy), the EPDP is currently attempting to take over the management of certain temples in the peninsula that have high revenue. My hunch is that EPDP’s illegal tax collection amounts to about ten per cent of what LTTE used to collect during the ceasefire time. Besides, foreigners (including Sri Lankan diaspora) visiting the North beyond Omanthai require Minis- try of Defence pass, which is antithetical to normalcy. Permissions are usually granted for air travel only (costing Rs. 18,600 or USD 175 for an adult round-trip ticket) thereby unfairly taxing visitors to the North from abroad in the same way the LTTE levied a special tax on diaspora people travelling through the A9 highway during the time of ceasefire. There is deep resentment towards the LTTE, among significant share of the population, due to their callous disregard for human life, recruitment of children and the immense misery that befell the general population during the final stages of the war. However, the bitterness towards the LTTE unfortunately has not trans- lated into goodwill towards the government, partly due to pampering of terrorists turned criminals such as Douglas Devananda and the remnants of the LTTE hierarchy such as Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan (alias ), Kumaran Pathmanathan (alias KP), Velautham Thayanithi (alias Thaya Master), et al, by the government.

Q: Tell us about the sentiment of Tamil civilians who escaped from the LTTE in last five months of 2009? To what extent is there bitterness against the LTTE due to its harsh treatment of civilians in the final stages of the war? A: There is a lot of antipathy towards the LTTE, which will last for a long time. The LTTE forced the civilians to flee along with them (as human shield) right up to the beaches of Northern Mullaitivu. Once the civilians vacated their homes, the LTTE cadres looted the household goods and building materials such as asbestos sheets, roof tiles, window and door frames, etc (in the same way as during the enforced exodus of civilians in the Jaffna peninsula during late-1995 / early-1996). Civilians (particularly women) were forced to part with the jewellery they were wearing (General Sarath Fonseka revealed in parliament in August, that during his tenure last year about 200 kilograms of gold belonging to the LTTE were unearthed in the Wanni and more after he retired from service and he does not know what has happened to it). The young and old were randomly conscripted to work for the LTTE; either to fight or do subsidiary duties such as manning sentry points, carrying arms, ammunition, and cargo. For the first time, the LTTE deployed male and female cadres together in the same bunker that had resulted in underage pregnancies. There are numerous underage single mothers in the North as a result. The LTTE sucked money and blood out of civil- ians right up to the end. For example, it was charging Rs. 1,000 (USD 10) per minute of satellite telephone calls to kith and kin in government controlled areas and abroad from the Wanni. Unfortunately, the Raja- paksa regime has failed to capitalise on the resentment of the Tamil civilians towards the LTTE. The priority of the Rajapaksas was consolidation of political power rather than winning the broken hearts and minds of northern Tamils. Rajapaksas were more interested in pampering to the parochial euphoria of the majority community (playing to the gallery) rather than bonding a fractured nation. If you remember what King Asoka in India did after the epic victory in the battlefield and compare it with President Rajapaksa’s behav- iour in the aftermath of the civil war, you could distinguish between a genuine Buddhist and a fake Buddhist. Posted by transcurrents on November 7

Will We Ever Learn? Last month, a mob of Southern ‘tourists’ invaded the Jaffna Public Library after closing hours. They re- sponded to objections by the authorities with malicious acts of vandalism and even defied the security forces. No arrests were made; having had their ‘Vini- Vidi-Vici’ moment the vandals returned, safe and sound. Tisaranee Gunasekara

Human Rights Review : October - December 14 Institute of Human Rights

15 LEGALARTICLES UNIT

HC Awissawella – Heroine SCFR 445/2010 – Discrimination

Petitioner started his employment carrier as a During the prison clinic on 19th June 2010 at Grama Niladhari on 1987. He completed 23 years Kuruwita we found this case. Suspect is married of unblemished service and not subjected any disci- and having 3 children and remand more than one plinary inquiry during his service. He applied to the year, suspicious of Heroine. IHR filed the case on relevant authorities to allow his retirement when he 23rd August 2010 and support the case. Bail was 55 years. He was allowed to retire in the ordi- granted on 8th November 2010 with the conditions nary process and was not informed of any other of Rs 20,000/= cash and 2 sureties. Also Hon matter when he was 58 years of age. Judge ordered to report to the police on last Sun-

day of every month. Soon after his retirement he for-

TS warded necessary papers to H the relevant authorities to ob- IG HL tain his pension. After 3 months he IG met the District Secretary / Government E H AS Agent and inquired for the reason for the delay in processing his pension and also C gave a letter of request. Government Agent verbally informed that action will be taken to release his pension soon. Further he wrote to the Secretary Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs and requested the secretary to intervene the matter. Fi- nally he received the charge sheet dated 9th October 2009 containing false allegations against him from Dis- trict Secretary / Government Agent 6 months after his retirement from his service. On January 18th 2010 he received an amended charge sheet contained the same charges. He forwarded his reply for the said charge sheet, raising several preliminary objections. Inquiry is going on with this regard. He wrote to several au- thorities including His Excellency the President to obtain his pension. He contacted IHR on March 2010 and we filed the FR case on 6th August 2010.

We supported the case and case concluded on 26th November. Court ordered to the Respondent to conclude the disciplinary inquiry within 6 months.

Prison Clinics

Date Conducted Prison No. of Inmates Lawyers

2nd October 2010 CRP 3 60

9th October 2010 Anuradhapura 2 33

9th October 2010 Matara 2 22

30th October 2010 Jaffna 1 21

30th October 2010 Vavuniya 3 55

30th October 2010 Kuruwita 3 57

Human Rights Review : October - December 15 Institute of Human Rights (R&P Unit) 16 RESTORATION & PROTECTION UNITARTICLES

CHILDREN IN CONFLICT WITH THE LEGAL REPRESENTATION FOR LAW AT MAKOLA REMAND HOME CHILDREN FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER AS FOLLOWS Month of October 2010 Total

Collection of new cases 05 • Cases represented by the Network law- New Cases 07 yers within the, Colombo jurisdiction : 12 Ongoing Cases 07 • Cases represented by the Network law- Legal representation 19 yers out of the, Colombo jurisdiction : 05

Closed Cases 01

Nimal’s case -14 years who came forward as guri- Motor Mechanic Course old boy Reunified in Oc- dan, 24 years to meet the tober 4th 2010 accused of financial bail. However his Thaldena Young Offenders sexual harassment brother had no ID and had Correctional Center Nimal (not his real no Grama seveka certifi- name) - his case details cate. The brother after 2 The theoretical part is completed were collected on months returned the money and arrangements have been made to 2008.6.12. reason for arrest to IHR as he had no place purchase first quality tools to the above was “suspicion of sexual to take Nimal and keep him. course amounting to Rs.925,00/- along abuse” due to the surrounding en- with other fuel (Diesel, Petrol & Kero- The case begins at vironment. Nimal’s neighboring house, We provided a law- sene) to continue the practicals. when Nimal went to watch yer since 2008 and in 2009 The tools will be used to teach television. The occupants of June. The girl was present practical and will be kept at the correc- the house were, father and with the baby at court. At tional center for the continuation of the 3 children (one boy and 2 that stage the girl claimed Motor Mechanic Course in the future. girls) The elder girl has Nimal to be the father of been taken to the nearby her baby. The judge or- center of the ground and dered the DNA testing. One Thaldena ex-detainee from raped repeatedly by the The girl was referred Lunawa was assisted to follow a driving brother and some others. t o Ranmut- course. The younger girl has hugala re- TS been raped re- GH mand HLI peatedly HIG home with the at home ASE baby through he Pro- by her fa- C bation Officer as she could- ther, brother n't live in her home envi- and some others. The ronment, where she in- younger girl became preg- formed that Nimal was not nant. Nimal was ar- the father of her child. rested on suspicion of sex- In October 2010, ual abuse along with the Nimal was released from father, brother and others the case and was reunified who had raped the girl. Ni- with the brother once again. mal claims that he has not IHR assisted Nimal by set- done so and he only hugged tling the financial bail im- the girl once. posed amounting to Towards the end of Rs.5000/- and the surety 2008, bail was granted for bail was granted to father Nimal Rs.6000/- financial and brother. bail but the guardians were Now Nimal is work- unable to make the pay- ing in a motor mechanic ment. IHR made the pay- garage along with his elder ment to his elder brother brother.

Human Rights Review : October - December 16 Institute of Human Rights

17 LEGAL & RESTORATION & PROTECTION UNITS AWARENESS FOR PRISON WELFARE OFFICERS ON MENTAL HEALTH

One day workshop was organized to provide awareness for prison welfare officers on mental health. The programme was held on 26th November at National Institute of Mental Health at Angoda. 21 welfare officers participated the programme, which was funded by UNDP – Equal Access to Justice Project & was conducted in collaboration with the Legal & Restoration and protection unit. Prison wel- fare officers from the following prisons participated. Magazine : 2 Welikada female ward : 1 Welikada : 4 Prison headquarters : 3 Kegalle : 1 Watareka : 3 Kalutara : 1 Mahara : 1 Negombo : 2 Pallansena : 1 Ambepussa : 1 & Meekirigala/Kndawatta : 1

IHR Legal Manager Mr.Neel Sujith Silva made the welcome speech and an Introduction of IHR activities was explained. He emphasized the importance of participating in this kind of program and how it would help in the carrier and day today life of prison welfare officers.

Dr. Jayan Mendis – Director of National Insti- tute of Mental Health - Sri Lanka / Consultant Psychia- trist discussed about the Mental Health in Prisoners & importance among the prison community. He covered the following topics: What is prisoners health / mental health, Factors affecting poor mental health in prison- ers, Why mental health is important among prisoners, How to improve mental health.

Dr. Kapila Ranasinghe - Consultant Psychia- trist delivered the importance of addressing Sexual Health in the prison community and Dr. Wijesinghe – Consultant Psychiatrist, covered the topic Substance abuse among the Prison community.

Mrs. Anula madduma Bandara – Psychiatrist Social Worker carried out the discussion and groups role play with the participants. She explained how to work with mental ill persons and shared her experience and knowledge & difficulties. Mr.Ranjith Balasouriya worked together with Ms. Anula and facilitated the program.

Mr. Dharmadasa – Former prison commissioner General and Director of IHR discussed on Prison issues and Mental health. The forum was open for discussion towards the end.

Human Rights Review : October - December 17 Institute of Human Rights (R&P Unit) 18 RESTORATIONLEGAL EDU-UNIT & PROTECTIONEDUCATION UNIT CATION UNIT

PARA LEGAL WORKSHOPS

As an expansion to the awareness programmes conducted by the institute, we conducted para legal workshops for prison officers. Para Legal workshop to the prison officers is a project funded by UNDP – Equal Access to Justice Project & was con- ducted in collaboration with the Legal Unit. Two workshops were conducted for prison officers of Trincomalee & Tangalle prisons. Workshop at Trincomalee prison was held on 23rd & 24th of October in Sinhala and Tamil medi- ums. Workshop at Tangalle prison was held from 05th to 07th November in Sinhala medium.

Group Activities by the Participants (Trinco Programme)

Topics discussed were – Para Legal and the functions of para legals, Introduction to Human Rights and Historical Evolution of Human Rights, Funda- mental Rights, Child Rights, Court Hierachchy, Womens’ Rights. Prisoner’s Rights, Introduc- tion to mediation. Tangalle Sinhala Medium Programme Resource persons ere Mr Neel Sujith Silva – Legal Manager, Mr V S Niranchan – Legal Officer, Ms Ireshika Gunawardena – Legal Officer, Mr T Karikalan – AAL, Mr. Jainudeen Mohamed Laheer - AAL (President of the bar association of Trincomalee), Mr E Mariyanesan – Freelance Trainer, Mr Jegath Liyanarachchi – AAL, Mr. Yasapala de Silva. Mr. Happuarachchi— Director Training Lecturing (Trinco) Mr. A Happuarachchi, Director Training of Prison depart- ment discussed about the Good Governance of Prison. The workshop helped the officers, to identify prob- lems faced by them in their daily work with prisoners, and enlightened them on legal issues, and laws related to their work. Also, this helped them to identify the mental stress of the prisoners, while they work with them.

Trincomalee Tamil Medium Programme

Trincomalee Sinhala Medium Programme

Human Rights Review : October - December 18 Institute of Human Rights

19 EDUCATION UNIT

The 23rd course for the English medium and 17th course for the Sinhala & Tamil Mediums were con- cluded in November & December respectively. A total of seventy one (71) participants participated.

English Medium : Themes selected by participants for group assignments :- Group A : Application of normative framework on protection and development of IDPs and returnees in Sri Lanka

Group B : Analyze Domestic legal framework and institutional arrangement in care, protection and development of IDPs in Sri Lanka

Group C : Select one district or one thematic area and analyze the issue relating to the IDPs and how much the State is success enough to protection of returnees.

Group D : Considering any displacement occurred in Sri Lanka, find out how they enjoy freedom of expression

Group E : Compare and contrast application of guiding principles on internally displaced person [GPID] in Sri Lankan context

Group F : How to create a Good Governance system in the private sector

Panel of Judges : Dr. Prathibha Mahanamahewa, Mr Senaka Dissanayake & Mr. Charuka Samarasekara

Sinhala Medium : Themes selected by participants for group assignments :- (a) Corporate governance & Social Responsibility

(b) Public Interest Litigation

(c) Internally Displaces People

Panel of Judges : Dr. Parthibha Mahanamahewage, Mr Senaka Dissanayake

Tamil Medium : Themes selected by participants for group assignments :- (a) Public interest litigation

(b) Internally Displaces People

Panel of Judges : Mr. V. S. Niranchan & Mr. Thirunauwakarasu

Human Rights Review : October - December 19 Institute of Human Rights

20 STAFF INFORMATION

Chairman Jeevan Thiagarajah

Board of Directors Michelle Gunaratne Leela Isaac Tahirih Q Ayn H.G.Dharmadasa

Legal Unit Hot Line : 077-3760680 011-2585812 [email protected] Manager – Legal Neel Sujith Silva [email protected] Legal Officer Unica Fonseka Legal Officer Wasana Ellawala Legal Officer Ireshika Gunawardena Legal Officer V.S. Niranchan Senior Coordinator K Premaseeli Coordinator Ayesha Shibly Coordinator Dinusha Bandara Coordinator Varahini Canisius Legal Consultant B.N. Thamboo

Education Unit 011-2502703 [email protected] Education Administrator Menaka Shanmughalingam [email protected] Education Coordinator (Sinhala) Priyanthi Gamage [email protected] Education Coordinator (English) Hashini Mahesha Rajaratna [email protected] Education Coordinator (Tamil) Unita Ferly Bastian [email protected]

Grants Administrator Gayani Meegamuge [email protected]

Restoration and Protection Unit 011-5368910 [email protected] Manager – Restoration and Protection Shirmilla Perera [email protected] Coordinator Nithyavani Baladasan

Finance Unit 011-2502810 [email protected] Finance Officer Champa Jayakody Accounts Assistant Ayesha Jeewanthi Accounts Assistant Shashika Jayasinghe

Administration 011-2585815 [email protected] Senior Office Assistant / Driver M Kannadasan Front Officer V P Chandima Padmasiri Driver / Office Assistant Duminda Attygala

Jaffna Branch 021-2240999 [email protected] Legal Consultant Jayasingham Jeyaruban Supervisor T. Sanmuganathan Coordinator Shiyamini Rajaratnam

Anuradhapura Branch 025 3899218 [email protected] Legal Officer Erandhi Thilakaratne Coordinator Sameera Sanjeevani

Matara Brach 041-5621452 [email protected] Legal Officer Mettha Sudharshi Narasinghe Coordinator Deeshani Prabhasari

Human Rights Review : October - December 20 Institute of Human Rights