June - August 2011

Issue No. 131 June - August 2011

Human Rights Review : June — August Institute of Human Rights 2 INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Editorial 3

Current issues :

Media Under Attack ♦ No need for right to information act 5 ♦ This type of brutality must be stopped : Sangari ♦ HR activists condemn attack on journalists 6

Human Rights Violations • Police top HR violators in 2009 6 • 1700 abducted in last two years • TUs tell govt. to publish report on FTZ clash 07

War Crimes • US ultimatum to Sri Lanka 07 • Slaughter out of sight 08 • An unhealed land 09

Corruption & Waste • Yes, there is a rock - Govt. 09 • Govt. has to pay Rs. 11.1 bn interest on loans taken for H’tota port 10

Towards a political settlement • Political Settlement : Commitment or Committee? 10 • President has a bigger mandate against devolution 11 • Time to rise above factionalism : Karu 12 • A mandate for peace and not hatred 13

Situation in the North • IDP camps lack basic facilities : WASL 14 • 514 children in Killinochcho found to have no parents

Article • The trauma of black July 15

Unit Reports Legal Unit 17 Restoration & Protection Unit 18 Education Unit 19

Staff Information 20

Edited by Layout designed by Cover Page Pictures Leela Isaac Hashini Rajaratna Daily Mirror 10/08/2011 Sunday Leader 07/08/2011

Human Rights Review : June — August 2 Institute of Human Rights

3 EDITORIAL

Reconciliation, a political settlement and the “Grease Devil”

xtremist Sinhala nationalists within the parliament and outside who do not believe that the minority E communities have or ever had any grievances see no reason why there should be a political settlement. As Basil Rajapaksa has pointed out if the TNA (Tamil national alliance) thinks it has a mandates for devolution of power, then the president has a bigger mandate from the South not to devolve power. The Defence Secre- tary, Gothabya Rajapaksa, the most important policy maker in the country today has flatly denied the need for a political settlemet. According to him since the LTTE has been exterminated there is no need for devolution; the present constitution is more than enough for all communities to live in peace. President Mahinda Ra- japaksa himself doesn’t appear to be very keen on a political settlement. He played around with the APRC for almost four years and then discarded the report it produced after numerous sittings. Now it seems it’s time to hide behind a Parliamentary select committee. As a senior university lecturer Sumanasiri Liyanage points out, “what is clear is that the government is not honest and genuine in dealing with the TNA and is trying to drag the discussions without making a genuine effort to reach a consensus. What has been revealed so far shows clearly that the government is not serious about resolving the Tamil National question”. Referring to the government’s lack of commitment, Dr. Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu says the APRC and PSC are only ruses to pass the buck, buy time and appease the international community. To arrive at a political settlement there must be consensus among the people and their leaders. To begin with there has to be reconciliation. The winners and the losers in the civil war that raged for nearly 30 years have to talk and arrive at a settlement. Since it’s the TNA that represents the Tamils (the losers) it is to them the government (the winners) has to talk. There can be no reconciliation unless the two parties make a genuine attempt to know and acknowledge the truth. Burying the past and suppressing the truth because an investigation into what actually happened would undermine the government’s development plans, will not bring about reconciliation. If those talks break down or they don’t arrive at a settlement, there is very little hope for a future peaceful Sri Lanka. Prabaharan and his cadres are dead but the growing discontent among the Tamil and Muslim youth will lead to another volcanic eruption, may be years later. The recent post-war phenomenon, the Grease Yakas (Grease Devils) have frightened too many people, specially in the villages. Of course the villagers realize they are men in devil’s clothing. But who are these men? Villagers claim they run into police stations or army camps when chased. There are rumours to say they are fed, clothed and then released by the police. People are beginning to question whether these ‘devils’ are creations of the government, used by the forces to terrorize the people and create a feeling of unrest in the country. The Defence Secretary however, has denied using these ‘devils’ for his benefit. And yet these ‘devils’ are spreading to different parts of the country. There is something sinister and mysterious about their origin and the areas they haunt. They were originally detected and hunted by the es- tate workers in the Ratnapura area. Gradually they have found their way to the North, East and the Central hills specially to areas inhabited by Tamils and Muslims. In Jaffna due to the ‘Grease Devil’ phobia 100 have been arrested, the papers report. The hundred arrested are not ‘grease devils’ but civilians who tried to attack the ‘devils’ through fear. These ‘devils’ have obviously activated the police and the army in the North. Major General Mahinda Hathu- rusinghe has said, “We have increased the troops and we are now conducting mobile patrols n the area to assist the police.” Special Task Force (STF) personnel are being kept busy maintaining law and order in other areas like Puttalam, Mannar and Kinniya in the East. In all these places civilians who protest against the ‘Devils’ are the ones who are considered the villains of the peace. According to General Hathurusinghe those who disturb the peace, those who protest would be shown no mercy – in fact they would be branded “Terrorists”. Now that the ‘Emergency Regulations’ are to be lifted the PTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act) could be more widely used to deal with these civilians who defy the ‘Grease men’. UNP parliamentarian R. Yogarajan says, “The ‘Grease Devil problem” has been created by the government to get the army into the up country. (Continued on page 04)

Human Rights Review : June — August 3 Institute of Human Rights

4 EDITORIAL

(continued from page 05) The army is now in all the estates and asking the workers to show their ID cards. We want the military to stay out because the upcountry people have never taken up arms and have always been a peaceful group”. He also raises the question why these ‘grease men’ appear in Tamil and Muslim areas only. There is also the view that the ‘grease men’ serve the government to distract the people from the real issues such as corruption, inefficiency, Human Rights violations and the cost of living. President Mahinda Raja- paksa has also decided to set up vigilante committees headed by government MPs in all parts of the country. They too will work with the police to “eradicate the “Grease Devil”. If the LTTE Terrorists could be eradicated there is no reason why the ‘Grease Devils’ cannot be eradicated. But so far not a single Grease Devil has been caught. Even mosques are to receive “police protection”. During the last Presidential election government sup- porters spread the fear among the voters that if General Sarath Fonseka won the election he would establish a military state. Now, although General Fonseka is locked up in prison, people fear that gradually the whole country may be administered by the Forces. There’s also the problem of rehabilitating those who escaped from the “Cage” during the final stages of the war. The day before the local government elections in the North in July, driving from Pudhukudiyiruppu to Killinochchi, a group of us witnessed a scene which is difficult to forget. All around us was desolation, on either side of the road we saw burnt down houses and an equal number of vehicles burnt and abandoned two years ago, shrubs and trees sprouting through the rubble, destroyed wells and an occasional lavatory standing erect amidst all this devastation. While contemplating the devastation caused by war, we were taken by surprise to see lorry loads of IDPs being brought and dumped by the roadside with all their belongings packed in a few “pora bags”. There were small children seated on these bags looking lost and forlorn. Obviously there was the need to “empty” the IDP camps before the elections, and this was one way of doing it. They were being brought back to their original “homes”. It was already late evening, how would they spend the night without lights, without shelter, surrounded by the jungle, with no human habitation in sight? Where would the children sleep? What if it rained? We found no answers to these questions. Many of these children we saw could have been those who had witnessed the deaths of many within the “Cage” before they themselves escaped. As such they would go through severe psychological trauma. According to a recent AL Jazeera report hardly anything is being done to deal with the psycho social aspect of the rehabilitation work done in the North. Papers also report that 514 children in Killinochchi have lost both their parents in the war. The National Child protection authority has selected 50 of them to receive a monthly dole of Rs. 500. What happens to the other 450 and the 3829 who have lost one parent? What will they grow up to be, with no proper education, sufficient food or shelter? There is no doubt that the government would easily win the other 23 local government elections to be held on October 08. There is no opposition to challenge the Rajapaksa regime. Rapid development and the beautification of towns will continue to make the people happy. The South will have no reason to wish for a regime change and whether there is a political settlement or not would not worry them. But among the majority Sinhalese there is a minority that believes the Tamils and Muslims do have grievances and that it is the successive Sinhala majority governments since independence that pushed a section of the Tamil youth to take up arms against the government and finally annihilate themselves and forty thousand of their own people on that narrow stretch of land along Nandikadal lagoon, now referred to as the ‘cage’ where the final solution to the ethnic conflict was enacted in May 2009. These liberal minded people realise the need for a political settlement based on devolution of power. They also realise that if there is no settlement now, the peace we enjoy today cannot last very long. Unfortunately our political leaders on both sides, the government as well as the opposition do not realise this danger. Now that the PSC is going to take the place of the APRC, Left politicians led by Tissa Vitharana, could go on discussing “Devolution and Power sharing”, interminably perhaps for another five years, while enjoying power and perks without responsibility. It is ironic that that only Left politician who has steadfastly stood for Devolution and the rights of the minorities, Wickramabahu Karnaratne has never been voted into Parliament because he seems unable to barter his principles and convictions for power and perks as the other Left politicians have done quite shamelessly.

Human Rights Review : June — August 4 Institute of Human Rights CURRENT ISSUES 5

No need for Right to Information Act This type of brutality must be stopped: Sangari resident Rajapaksa said there was no need for new laws P to protect people’s right to information and he was pre- he Tamil United Liberation Front pared to ensure that everybody had access to any information T (TULF) yesterday said that the cul- except what was covered by the Official Secrecy Act and mat- prits who attacked the news editor of the ters related to national security. He would make available Tamil National Daily Uthayan Gnanasunda- information required by journalists if a request was made, he ram Kuganathan seem to have been paid said. assassins. The Party also said the attacks In reply to a remark by an editor that freedom of information do not appear to have been carried out as was a prerequisite for battling corruption etc, the President a result of any personal animosity towards said such matters could be referred to the Commission to In- Journalists. vestigate Allegations of Bribery and Corruption. "We have TULF Leader V. Anandasangari, strengthened it and anyone can move it if there are com- vehemently condemned the attempt on plaints of bribery or corruption," he said. the life of Mr. Kuganathan on Friday night -The Island –29/06/2011 adding that this type of brutality should be stopped forthwith and the Police should Right to Information Bill make every effort to arrest the culprits. “It is very unfortunate that the harassment of

he main Opposition united National Party (UNP) has ex- Journalists, particularly in Jaffna, was still T posed the duplicity of the ruling coalition, United People’s going on unabated. Further incidents of Freedom Alliance (UPFA) in the right to information issue, by this nature could be avoided only if the way of moving a Bill in Parliament on June 21, in granting the people co-operate in detecting the real citizens the right to information that they deserve. offenders,” he added. He observed that this was not the The ruling coalition defeated the Bill. This was the second first time that Mr. Kuganathan had faced time the Bill was presented in the House by one of the two this ordeal, as an armed group broke into Deputy Leaders of the UNP, Karu Jayasuriya. He presented it his office on an earlier occasion too and for the first time in March this year and withdrew it following had inquired about his whereabouts. The assurance by the government that it would present its own Bill TULF leader said no one should encourage for the same purpose. When it was clear to the Opposition that this type of activity but help to eradicate Government was dragging its feet in keeping the promise them. He stressed that the co-operation of Jayasuriya again moved the Bill in Parliament last month only the people was necessary if this was to be to be defeated by the Government. achieved. “We pray for Mr. Kuganathan’s -Daily Mirror - 09/07/2011 quick recovery,” he added. -Daily Mirror - 01/08/2011

Sabaragamuwa University Vice Chancellor Ven. Kamburugamuwe Vira Thera appealed to the public to act with patience by not letting the so-colled grease devil phobia or its promoters to disturb the prevailing peaceful environment in the country.

“There are numerous International movements, NGOs and political organizations behind the spreading of this myth of grease devils with the intention of creating difficulties for the government,” he told a news briefing.

Human Rights Review : June — August 5 Institute of Human Rights CURRENT ISSUES 6

The intellectuals for Human Rights (IHR) yes- ists in the North and flee without the police or secu- terday vehemently condemned the assault on the rity forces notice while heavy security presence is in chief news editor of the Udayan news paper Naga- place in the region" HR said in a press release. sundaram Kuganadan by an unidentified group. It said therefore the "This is a continuation of st government can- k on journali the attacks on n attac not escape from ivists condem free media in HR act the responsibility of this brutal at- the country as well as sup- tack unless the police arrest the respondents imme- pression of the democratic rights of the people in diately. It is the government’s responsibility to en- the North. It is surprising and cannot believe how sure the security and the freedom of the people. unidentified groups continuously carry out violence against political leaders, journalists and other activ- -The Island - 01/08/2011

Police top HR violators in 2009 Disappeared HR worker's body found he highest number of complaints of human T rights violations had been received against he body of human rights activist Pattinin Ra- the Police Department for violating human rights in T zeek who disappeared more than one and half 2009, Parliament was told yesterday. years ago was exhumed from a village off Valaich- Chief Government Whip Water Supply and chenai in the presence of the Valaichchenai Magis- Drainage Minister Dinesh Gnawardena said that of trate. the 5,454 complaints received that year, 2691 The body buried within a half built private were against the police. house in a village at Kavaththa munai in Valachchenai The other government institutions against was unearthed on a lead given by a suspect and it which complaints have been made include the was sent to the Government Analyst for the scientific Education Department (253), the armed forces identification by the Magistr ate. (176), Pension Department (90) University Grants The second suspect Ismail Mohamed Musteen Commission and universities (83) and Public Ad- escorted a police team to the place where the body of ministration Ministry (65.) Razeek was buried. Between 2009 and June 2011, the number The family members and colleagues of Pattini of complaints of human rights violations received Razeek were present at the scene and it was reported by the Human Rights Commission numbered that the suspect Ismail M. Musteen who was at the 11,732. scene was continuously reciting the Quran while the -The Island - 22/07/2011 police were unearthing the body. -Daily Mirror - 22/07/2011 1700 abducted in last two years ior police officer said. uring the last two years, 1700 persons have In 2009, 926 persons were abducted and 774 per- been abducted according to a new report pre- D sons were abducted during the last year, the police pared by the Police Department. said. Police also stated that 202 suspects are yet to The number includes personal issues as well. be identified and for 275 cases the police have taken steps or had acted to deal with them legally. Most of them have been abducted for extortion according to information gathered by the police, a sen- -Daily Mirror - 01/08/2011

Human Rights Review : June — August 6 Institute of Human Rights CURRENT ISSUES 7 TUs tell govt. to publish report on FTZ clash

rade union leaders representing workers of the lowing the incident. The commission handed over its T Free Trade Zone (FTZ) have called on the au- report to the president on Friday. thorities to publish the report of the presidential Anton Marcus of the Joint Trade Union Alli- commission that investigated the recent unrest in ance (JTUA) told BBC ‘Sandeshaya’ that he had also the FTZ. testified before the commission. "I clearly pointed President Mahinda Rajapaksa appointed a out with evidence those responsible for the violence one-man commission chaired by retired judge Maha- while testifying before the commission," he said. "I nama Thilakaratne after a young FTZ worker was hope the evidence we supplied is also in the commis- shot dead by the police. The killing of Roshen sion's report." The trade unions are, however, still Shanaka led to further protests by the FTZ workers calling for an independent investigation into the vio- who first took to the streets against a controversial lence that led to the killing of Roshen Shanaka. private sector pension scheme. The Pensions Bill was "Any independent investigation would hold later withdrawn following strong opposition by work- the government responsible," added Anton Marcus. ers. In an unprecedented move, the then Police Chief Mahinda Balasuriya handed over his resignation fol- -Daily Mirror - 09/08/2011

us ultimatum to Sri Lanka Hold credible investigation or face international action

The United States on Tuesday urged Sri Lanka to hold a full, independent and credible investigation into alleged human rights violations in keeping with international standards, and warned that otherwise there would be international action against the country.

“We support a full and credible and independent investigation of alleged violations of international human rights and law and international humanitarian law in Sri Lanka. We want to see the Sri Lankans do this themselves in a way that meets international standards. So what I would say to Sri Lankan critics is take your responsibility and mount an investigation that meets international standards. HR groups ask Swiss to And we continue to urge the Government of Sri Lanka to do just that and to do it quickly. And we hope Sri prosecute Sri Lanka diplomat Lankans will do this themselves. GENEVA (AP) — Two advocacy groups asked Swiss But if they do not, there’s going to be growing pres- authorities on 04th August to pursue war crime sure from the international community for exactly the charges against a former Sri Lankan army com- kind of international action that Sri Lankans say they mander now serving as a European diplomat, re- don’t want,” State Department Spokesperson Victoria flecting still-simmering Western concerns about Nuland said addressing the daily media briefing on the Sri Lanka’s human rights record. 09th August 2011.

-The Island - 06/08/2011 -Daily Mirror—11/08/2011

Human Rights Review : June — August 7 Institute of Human Rights CURRENT ISSUES 8

The first full account of the Sri Lankan army's massacre of Slaughter out of sight civilians in 2009, by the UN spokesman in Colombo, argues that their actions were war crimes

The ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka those children and their parents minister Rajiv Gandhi. They was always a silent war, with who resisted,” Weiss writes. would not tolerate any dissent in much of the killing and suffering their community and extermi- hidden from view. This was never But whatever the sins perpe- nated moderate Tamil leaders. more so than at its horrific climax trated by the Tigers, Weiss says Much of the overseas money for in the first five months of 2009, that it was the Sri Lankan army their arms and guerrilla opera- when the Sri Lankan army that inflicted the bulk of deaths tions was raised by extortion and trapped the last Tamil Tiger on the captive -population. Seiz- through the heroin trade. guerrillas as they hid among ing the chance to defeat the Ti- more than 300,000 Tamil refu- gers, against whom it had fought Weiss emphatically supports Sri gees in an area twice the size of for nearly 30 years, the army Lanka’s right to protect its terri- Hampstead Heath and unleashed shelled the area with heavy artil- tory from such a scourge. But he on them a vicious bloodbath. lery without a shred of restraint. believes that the army’s mass As many as 40,000 civilians are killing of civilians in order to de- At the time, nobody knew the full believed to have died in the blitz, stroy the Tigers was a step too extent of the carnage. The gov- as well as the entire Tigers lead- far and cannot go unmarked. Not ernment had banished interna- ership, including Velupillai Pra- only is it one of the darkest, tional journalists and aid workers bakharan, the group’s fanatical most shameful episodes of the and forced the UN from the creator and supreme leader. new millennium — but how is it scene, so that there were no wit- that the United Nations was so nesses while the army methodi- Although not himself an eyewit- slow to react and did not do cally bombarded the coastal spit ness to the slaughter, Weiss was more to stop the slaughter? of land with artillery, all the time close enough to the levers of maintaining the fiction that it was power for us to trust his judg- One reason for the failure is that respecting a “no-fire zone”. ment that the killings were war the Sri Lankan government was crimes that should be investi- extremely adept at hiding what Gordon Weiss, however, was gated. His book is a powerful in- was going on and successfully working in the Sri Lankan capital, dictment of the leadership of projected its struggle against the Colombo, as the UN spokesman. President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Tigers as its part of the “global A journalist and UN official for his brother Gotabaya, the de- war on terror”. Another was that two decades, much of it spent in fence secretary, who drove the China protected it in the UN Se- conflict zones, he has published campaign. curity Council, blocking interna- the first comprehensive factual tional action. account of the mass killing and There is no doubt that the world why the UN was powerless to is a safer place without the Tamil Weiss’s book is well-timed. UN prevent it. Tigers, a ruthless insurgent experts, too, have just released a group that grew out of the ethnic damning report that says the His book is a striking account of war waged on the mostly Hindu killing of tens of thousands of the ruthless terror wreaked by Tamils by the xenophobic gov- civilians in the 2009 offensive both sides on the innocent civil- ernment. The Tigers were not may amount to war crimes. The ians trapped in the pocket of bound by any of the rules of war- Sri Lankan government angrily land. The Tamil Tigers, hoping fare. They pioneered suicide rejects it. But this is a that the presence of the refugees bombing long before Al-Qaeda. “Srebrenica moment”, which would shield them from attack, They blew up buildings, put must be seized, Weiss says. Fail- killed those they found trying to bombs on planes, trains and ure to have a credible judicial escape to government lines. As buses, used children as fighters, war-crimes investigation will be the perimeter shrank, the Tigers developed their own navy an encouragement to other bru- grew more desperate. “They (including submarines) and even tal regimes with “terrorist” prob- would shoot, execute and beat to had an air force of light planes. lems to follow Sri Lanka’s model death many hundreds of people, of waging a silent war against its ensure the deaths of thousands Among the leaders they have own people away from the of teenagers by press-ganging killed are the Sri Lankan presi- world’s gaze. them into the front lines and kill dent and the former Indian prime

Human Rights Review : June — August 8 Institute of Human Rights CURRENT ISSUES 9

he war against the LTTE was unavoidable. But tions of desperate necessity, it is essential to “retain T the undeniable monstrousness of the Tigers a sense of guilt, an awareness of the inadmissibility cannot be used to justify monstrous deeds committed of what we have done” (London Review of Books – in the necessary war against them. For instance, the 23.5.2002). But such a contrite and apologetic mind- regime’s argument that one of the victims, whose set, and the introspection necessary for it, becomes naked (and obviously abused) body is shown on the impossible when moral infallibility is taken as the Channel 4 documentary, Ms. Issipriya, was a Tiger first premise. cadre and not a journalist is irrelevant. Tor- and Black July was enabled by led L ture and rape (and killing prison- nhea our collective-denial of the human- ers) are legally impermissible and An U ity of Tamils. The silent majority regarded morally abhorrent, irrespective of Tamils as monsters enabling a violent minority to whether the victims are armed-Tigers o r u n - treat them as such. Our inability to be affected by armed-civilians. In wars such horrific deeds can and Tamil suffering during and post-war indicates that do happen, which is why instead of covering our- that moral failure which enabled the Black July is still selves with a threadbare cloak of moral-infallibility with us and within us. we need to make a sincere effort to investigate the war crimes charges. As Slavoj Žižek pointed out, By Tisaranee Gunasekra when legal-moral boundary lines are crossed in situa- - Sunday Leader - 31/07/2011

yes, there is a rock-Govt

huge rock layer was preventing further dredg- A ing of the new Hambantota Harbour hampering its development and would have to be blasted at a heavy cost, the government admitted yesterday. Cabinet spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said yesterday that blasting and removing the granite block- ade at the mouth of the harbour was a must to develop the Hambantota Harbour to the international level.

“We actually do not know the extent of the rock and how long it would take to remove it. However, we have to do it sooner than later as its existence ham- pers the development of the Hambantota Harbour further,” Minister Rambukwella stressed.

Responding to a journalist, minister Rambukwella said no project was perfect and setbacks and drawbacks could appear at any time when large-scale development projects are carried out and added that a huge chalk tunnel was found at Kotmale during the Ma- haweli Development Project..

Asked whether the feasibility study had not detected the said rock, he said that may be a failure on the part of those who carried out the feasibility study and added that a huge amount of money would have to be spent to blast and remove the rock. -Daily Mirror - 05/08/2011

Human Rights Review : June — August 9 Institute of Human Rights CURRENT ISSUES 10 Govt. has to pay Rs. 11.1 bn interest on loans taken for H’tota port

The government has to pay US $ 111.21 million (roughly around to Rs. 11.1 billion) in terms of interest for the US $ 307 million loan obtained from China for the Hambantota Ports Development Project, Parliament was told yesterday. Deputy Ports and Highways Minister Rohitha Abey- gunwardena told Parliament that the total cost of the project was US $ 360 million, and of it only US $ 54 million was financed by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority. The rest had been obtained from EX-IM Bank, China. -The Island –25/06/2011

Political Settlement: Commitment or Committee?

here is to be another parliamentary select and unitary Sri Lanka and home grown. Furthermore T committee to find a political settlement of the that there could be a second chamber and that Thir- ethnic conflict. The simple question is why, given teenth Amendment Plus, the short hand for some that there have been many committees, all party time on the political settlement, will be at the most ones, the famous Mangala Moonesinghe Committee Thirteenth Amendment Minus because police and way back when and the more recent APRC. All la- land powers will remain with the centre. The evi- bored and reported and that was that. There are dence points to a conclusion suspected by some, in- also talks between the TNA and the regime. Will they cluding this columnist, that the military victory is in- continue and if so what relationship will they have to deed considered the solution and that keeping alive the deliberations of this proposed select committee? the talk about a political settlement is in the nature At the heart of the matter is the sincerity and of play acting to placate international opinion which commitment of the regime towards a political settle- in turn is relieved that tougher decisions and/or the ment. The public rhetoric is that the military victory exposure of the limits of their leverage is thereby was not enough and that a political settlement is nec- postponed, yet again. essary. Yet we have not been told as to what this By Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu could be apart from that it should be within a united -Daily Mirror - 13/07/2011 Questions we should be asking but don’t

1. Is it advisable to spend billions on the 2018 commonwealth games? 2. Are the Emergency and the PTA really necessary? 3. Why does defense spending remain sky high post war? 4. Is it right to evict Colombo’s poor from their homes? 5. Is it just to subject Northern Tamils to a de facto military occupation? 6. Why is Gen. Sarath Fonseka in jail? 7. Is it possible to believe that the regime knew nothing about the murderous assault on the News Editor of ‘Uthayan’? By Tisranee Gunasekara

Human Rights Review : June — August 10 Institute of Human Rights CURRENT ARTICLES ISSUES 11 President has a bigger mandate against devolution

Basil Rajapaksa Economic Development Minister and Minister overseeing the resettlement programmes in the war ravaged North and the East in an interview for Hard Talk by Shakuntala Perera

Q: The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) which se- Q: TNA spokesman Suresh Premachandra main- cured 18 local councils yesterday insists on the devo- tains that the TNA was in a ‘stronger position’ to ne- lution of police and land powers without which they gotiate with the government at the ongoing talks fol- claim a political solution could not be reached, em- lowing the mandate received. Are you concerned that phasizing that ‘lasting peace, justice and democracy’ this would affect the progress of the talks between in the North depends on such devolution. the government and the TNA? Then the President has a bigger mandate not to Whether they’re strong or not is not a factor give these powers. here. They’re talking of their mandate- how about ours- Then we are far stronger to hold on to these policies one accepted by a larger majority by the whole coun- (they demand). This is the mistake the LTTE did try? The President also has the mandate of the mi- when they thought they were strong militarily. The nority communities. And this is a so-called mandate LTTE also used violence to make demands from a coming from a local government election which will stronger hold, and at one time it worked. This is that really decide fixing street lamps or community taps same thinking that has not changed. For negotiations etc. Under the Constitution a mandate has to be ob- strength or weakness is not relevant- what is retained in a referendum or a Presidential or Parlia- quired is to come to a solution. mentary election. -Daily Mirror - 28/07/2011 Gota’s statement disturbs TNA trol their politico-economic environment. In sum, any solution needs, as a matter of urgency, devolve In a statement Mr. Sumanthiran (TNA) said: power for people to take charge of their own destiny. “The Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa Any solution must be seen as one that stretches to and President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s brother who is an the maximum possible devolution without sacrificing important policy-maker in the government, has been the sovereignty of the country, given the background quoted in Wednesday’s Daily Mirror there is little to the conflict... In conclusion I wish all success in scope of going beyond the current levels of devolu- their collective endeavour in formulating a political tion. He has further stated that the existing constitu- and constitutional frame-work for the resolution of tion is more than enough for us to live together and the national question’. that he does not think there is any issue on this more “However, the points for discussion proposed than that. by the TNA delegation at the invitation of the govern- “At the beginning of the bi-lateral talks be- ment delegation as early as February and March this tween the government delegation and the TNA on year were not responded to by the government dele- January 10, it was agreed to adopt the speech made gation even at the tenth round of talks held on Au- by the President in July 2006 to the All Party Repre- gust 4. It is in this background that the TNA asked sentative Committee (APRC) as the direction for the the government to respond before proceeding with solution. In that speech, he said: ‘People in their own any further dialogue. localities must take charge of their destiny and con- -Daily Mirror - 12/08/2011

otabhaya R. said that “if SEE THROUGH ays Gotabhaya that ‘being unpre- G the good looking UK Tamil S pared’ got him into trouble with the who stayed in the detention camps did not get interview he gave to an Indian media outfit, being what raped, why does she think the army raped any- got Hindu editorial writers screaming, calling him ‘the one else?’ According to the defence secretary, uncontrollable brother.’ would he have said anything this was taken by the Hindu to be a ‘ketha differently if he was prepared—this we wondered, when tharkaya.’ (Ugly argument) what the Hindu in fact he spoke yet again ‘unprepared’ at a nationalist’s fed- said was ‘the brother should be taken to task on eration symposium this week. this alone.’ -Lakbimanews-

Human Rights Review : June — August 11 Institute of Human Rights CURRENT ISSUES 12

“Sri Lanka stands poised at a strange and dangerous national security to infringe upon all the freedoms it juncture of her history, this has now become glar- claims to be fighting to secure. With regard to the ingly apparent to all those of us who live here. There issue of post-war reconciliation among communities, is a serious absence of accountability and transpar- the government has chosen a path of scandalous ency in matters of governance that have effectively sidetracking, taking refuge in setting up various com- sidelined the vast majority of the citizens in the deci- mittees and other bodies that have no teeth, sion-making process,” he said. refusing to u deal with issues head on by dis-ar cussing the just claims He said whether it was the management of factors : K m of the minority and arriving at essential to daily life, rampant corruption and un- lis na an equitable long term political solu- precedented nepotism, whether it was the tio ac tion, Mr. Jayasuriya further said. breakdown of every democratic institu- ve f tion in this country once held bo “It is in this context that we, as the opposition, must e a sacred, and the politiciza- ris t i o n be more forceful in pointing out the flaws, revealing and destruction of to all state the inefficiencies, exposing the corruption, nepotism me structures and poli-Ti cies, there has and abuse of power, and articulate the ways and emerged today a single, burning need – means of correcting all these errors and in the event for a vibrant opposition that can stem the excesses that the relevant authorities continue to turn a deaf of the incumbent regime and offer an alternative to ear, to mobilize the people of this country to hold the Sri Lanka’s people. We live in a country where the government accountable,” he added. state apparatus uses its defeat of terrorism to unleash terror of its own. It has used the blanket of -Daily Mirror - 17/08/2011 Move to reduce number of Jaffna MPs: Sangaree wants polls chief to rescind decision

Tamil parties are up in arms over Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya to reduce the number of elected representatives from the Jaffna electoral district from nine to six. The TNA and the TULF want the polls chief to rescind his decision. The following is the text of a let- ter dated July 31 sent to polls chief by TULF leader V. Anandasangaree; I am surprised at your decision to reduce the number of seats in Parliament for the Jaffna District, from nine to six. Let there be no confusion in this matter. I am sure you are referring to the Jaffna Electoral District which is comprised of both the Administrative Districts of Jaffna and Kilinochchi and not the Jaffna District alone. Before Kilinochchi was carved out of the Jaffna District, it had eleven electorates. The number came down to nine at one stage and no one took serious note of it due to the adverse situation prevailing in the North, at that time. Your decision to bring the number further down from, nine to six, is totally unaccept- able. The irony is that in the preparation for Independence in 1948, the first parliament was constituted in 1947. It had seven members out of 95 members elected on first past the post system and six other nomi- nated members to represent the unrepresented interest, totaling 101. Apart from the legality of this matter, how ridiculous it looks for the Jaffna Electoral District to have only six elected members out of 196 elected and 29 selected on the National List. If the number of elected members come down to 6 in 2011 from 7 in 1947, 64 years back, we should concede that something had radically gone wrong. It is your duty to bring it to the notice of His Excellency the President, with your recommendations, to take remedial measures to set things right.

The following factors should be taken into consideration:- ♦ Due to displacement, people have settled in various places in the South and have just started returning to their homes. (Continued on page 13)

Human Rights Review : June — August 12 Institute of Human Rights CURRENT ISSUES 13

(Continued from page 12) ♦ When the voters list, on which you propose taking action, was prepared most people had not returned to their houses. ♦ Many are still reluctant to move back for various reasons such as fear, lack of facilities in their homes most of which are still not fit for habitation, failure to resettle in high security zones and houses retained by the army for various reasons by force, refusing permission for the owners to resettle. ♦ Many have no means of living and none had been compensated for any of their losses including for lives lost. ♦ No statistics are available about the people who died during the war and of those missing and abducted persons etc. These details would not have been available when the voters’ lists were prepared. ♦ The chief breadwinners of many families are still in detention resulting in people showing reluctances to get back home, without proper security. ♦ Since steps are being taken to have a general census, a delimitation commission can follow as provided in the former constitution and the decision can be left in the hands of the commission. ♦ Above all your proposal will only aggravate the situation and will distance finding a solution to the ethnic problem. Therefore I strongly urge you to recommend to the Government to have the status quo maintained till absolute normalcy is restored and the unauthorized settlements are withdrawn. The best and the most reasonable solution is to maintain the status quo and to recommend to the Government for sealing of the number at 225 until next delimitation takes place following the census. -The Island - 01/08/2011

A mandate for peace and not hatred What is far more tragic however, is the man- ner in which they have also sadly proven ne can interpret an election result anyway they themselves hardly budging from their hitherto under- O want. You can find refuge in the numbers not taken irresponsible path- that of forcing a politically polled with accusations against the victor or call the and economically volatile path for their own commu- whole thing a farce devaluing the entire process of nity. The very idea of putting one's own people; fi- electioneering in a country's political history. Or you nally breathing free after three decades of war, to can do what the Tamil National Alliance does and call the same selfish path of comfort for the politicians a victory at a local government poll to hold the future themselves, must be condemned. of an entire land. The TNA has as usual taken the easy road. Rather than taking the effort to arrive at creating an environment that is conducive for all communities through a credible process of negotiations, they have called the last week's poll a 'mandate' to demand greater political rights for the Tamil people. The Party now claims that their victory in 18 out of 23; no doubt an impressive win, to indicate one for demand- ing greater land and police powers to the North and the Eastern provinces. Needless to say this very interpretation from an election held to appoint bodies to decide where a tap is to be fixed or where a community well is to Editorial positioned, as one deciding on larger political issues -Daily Mirror - 28/07/2011 such as devolution is absurd to say the least.

Human Rights Review : June — August 13 Institute of Human Rights CURRENT ISSUES 14

Election campaigners IDP camps lack basic facilities: WASL

restrained in north e Are Sri Lankans (WASL), an organization rallying for the welfare of the IDPs yesterday expressed their concern Exectuve Director of CAFFE W over the lack of basic infrastructure facilities in certain IDP (Campaign for Free and Fair Election) camps. Keerthi Thennakoon said that there had WASL Executive Committee member Udul Premaratne been an attack on the TNA when they yesterday said that the electricity supply in the Vavuniya had their first meeting and, a search Poonthottam camp remains disconnected for the past three days. operation by the security forces during “There are over 150 families living in the Poonthottam camp thier second meeting. presently. They are facing a lot of hardships due to the lack of He said in Manipay a dog's head electricity,” he said. was hung from the gate of a candidate's Premaratne pointed out it was unfortunate that the gov- house while dirty water was thrown on ernment has not been successful in assuring a stable supply of to the doorstep of another. electricity for the IDP camps although it has been over two years The army has been involved in since the end of the war. “We should also note that these IDPs’ the civil administration to a certain ex- returning to their villages was being unnecessarily delayed by the tent in these areas and its influence had Government and as a result, the families residing in the camp are affected the political activites of the unable to bring their lives to normalcy,” he added. people, he added. -Daily Mirror - 11/08/2011 -Daily Mirror - 11/07/2011

I was forced to leave: Hoole 514 children in Killinochchi

Professor Ratnajeevan Hoole, a respected Sri found to have no parents Lankan Tamil academician and a prominent NCPA says 3329 children had lost one parent returnee after the military defeat of the Tamil Tigers, said on Thursday that he was forced to The National Children Protection Authority (NCPA) leave the country. has identified 3329 children who had lost one parent each “Yes, I left through Colombo airport as well as 514 children who had lost both parents in the for London before [sic] I am arrested. I will Killinochchi District. work in the U.S. till lawyers can sort this out 50 such children who had lost both their parents for me,” he told The Hindu via e-mail, when had been selected for a monthly dole of 500 rupees said asked if he had fled Sri Lanka. “I will return the Northern Province Coordinator for National Children because Sri Lanka (Jaffna in particular) is my Protection Authority Mr. S.C.S. Ibrahim. home,” he asserted. -Daily Mirror - 12/08/2011 Prof. Hoole, one of the few Tamils who The question in regard to this all too easy accep- was vocal in his criticism of the Tamil Tigers tance of the purported ending of the emergency regime is when the outfit ruled the Northern Province the recent (unofficial) announcement by (unnamed) gov- had had to flee Sri Lanka then. This time he ernment spokesmen that new ‘consequential’ legislation had to leave because of his differences with will be brought in to try terrorist suspects. This announce- the lone Tamil Minister in the Sri Lankan Cabi- ment seems innocuous but the public is in the dark as to net, Douglas Devananda. Mr. Devananda had what this draft legislation is all about. Is this new law only filed a defamation case against Prof. Hoole in to deal with those already arrested under Emergency the Kayts court over articles that the academi- Regulations or will it extend to future arrests? cian had written in the media. We deserve to know in detail what we will face as a result

of these ‘consequential’ laws. -Daily Mirror—12/08/2011 by Kishali Pinto Jayawardene

Human Rights Review : June — August 14 Institute of Human Rights CURRENT ARTICLES ISSUES 15 The trauma of black July

n July 1983, I was working in a Middle Eastern country. When I heard about the anti-Tamil riots in Sri I Lanka, I was aware of a catastrophe, even though I was too politically immature then to grasp the full nature of the tragedy and its implications for Sri Lanka in the years to come.

My sympathies for the victims were heartfelt and deep. In 1983, though, I was a very naïve, well-meaning Sinhala Buddhist young man who believed that a limited war could contain the LTTE, and that the government was now fully awake to the ugly reality of communal violence and would make sure it would not happen again by offering the Tamils a satisfactory political deal.

Twenty eight years later, I know better. Let’s not start another round of blame games.

Whatever terrorists do, governments are duty bound to protect their citizens. What I failed to realise back then was that the government shouldn’t have let Black July happen in the first place. After returning home in 1984, I remember telling a Tamil tenant in my neighbourhood how bad I felt about the whole thing. He didn’t even smile. Giving me a blank look, he quickly disappeared indoors.

I felt puzzled then by his behaviour, though now I know that, in his place, I would have done exactly the same thing. But I belonged to the majority, brought up with centrist, conservative political views, well- meaning but complacent, and hardly in a position to put myself in the lot of a persecuted minority, of someone who has had a family member hacked to death and the house burnt down by a ranting mob.

Now I know better. Even though I was never politically connected to any group that could even be remotely called subversive, and lived in the relative safety of central Colombo during the dark years of the 1987-90 terror and disappearances, I learnt then what it was like to be caught up helplessly between warring factions bent on annihilating each other, what it was like to have a friend abducted and disappeared by a death squad (who turned out to be policemen working for presidential security). I learned the hard way that the locked doors of your own house provided no safety if someone has your name in their list purely by mistake as part of a personal vendetta.

There was a period of relative complacency in the 1990s, when Chandrika Kumaratunge became president, vowing to deliver peace and prosperity. Now we all know better.

Especially over the past six years, I have again lived with that lurking fear in the guts, mainly because of my profession of journalism because the grey areas which always existed in freedom of expression have become so murky as to be unfathomable. Being a member of the majority is no longer an insurance policy against wanton personal destruction at the hands of others. That has been my political education over the past thirty years. You are safe as long as you toe the line, but only just so.

When I returned to my home in Colombo Eight in 1984, Borella town and its environs still bore many scars of July 1983. There were gutted houses and buildings along Cotta Road and many of the narrow lanes with whimsical names from the colonial days. The biggest scar was the gutted BCC building with its stricken clock facing Borella town centre. This building was one of the first to be torched by the mob heading from the General Cemetary (or Kanatta, where the cremation of thirteen soldiers killed by the LTTE in Jaffna sparked off the riots (in reality, not a spontaneous burst of anger but a well-planned ‘pogrom’ involving several top ministers to rid Colombo of its Tamils) towards Maradana through Borella town. The clock bore mute testimony to the tragic hour for many years. Incredibly, no one thought of removing it right into the newmillennium, until the building was finally repainted a few years ago and the old scar of the stricken clock finally removed.

(Continued on page 16)

Human Rights Review : June — August 15 Institute of Human Rights ARTICLES 16

(Continued from page 15)

I think that is a perfect symbol of the majority’s insensitivity towards the horrible events of July 1983, of our inability to learn lasting lessons from it. Of the millions who passed Borella town in the intervening years, I wonder how many knew what that clock signified. The symptoms of the malaise are evident when you talk to long-time residents and shop keepers of Borella. Talking to me, none of them has ever mentioned this horrific event, let alone express any regrets.

Then there is the Borella bus stand, another eyesore in an irritatingly bland town without any pretensions to culture (the Punchi theatre down Cotta Road looks like a happy accident). Shared uneasily between the private bus mafia and the decadent state bus service, this rundown bus passenger terminal was the infamous venue of a famous photograph taken in July 1983 – that of a naked Tamil man sitting on the cement step leading to it, covering his face with both hands, while a smiling Sinhala patriot is about to kick him viciously.

This is a remarkable photograph because, as far as I know, no other such bleak photographic evidence of man’s inhumanity to man during Black July exists. Pictures only showed gutted buildings and vehicles. This is because photographers themselves were prime targets of the mobs, and inconspicuous devices such as mobile phone cameras were unknown. This black and white photo was taken in fading light with a flash gun.The man who took it was Chandragupta Amarasinghe, an obscure photographer working for the Communist Party newspaper Aththa at the time.

No one seems to remember him today. Though his photograph has been reprinted many times (though not in the mainstream media), I have never seen him given credit in print.I remember him as a young man with a scraggly beard who went in slippers, carrying his battered old SLR camera in a ragged cloth bag. It may he his sorry appearance which spared him the mob’s wrath. No one knows his wherabouts today, but his unique, brave photograph is as powerful in its own way as Francisco Goya’s famous painting of Napoleon’s soldiers executing Spanish civilians in Madrid or any of those photographs from the days of civil rights strug- gles in the US or apartheid in South Africa.

But can we be sure that this dark history won’t repeat itself? By Gamini Akmeemana

TNA MP Mr. Sreedaran stated in parliament on 23rd August that the people had clear proof that the grease men were really the military officers who were attacking the villagers. He said that in Jaffna Navan- thurai, Vadamarachchi, Polikanty, and Vathurai and in Killnochchi, Bharathipuram, in the night people have entered their houses and disturbed them. When the villagers tried to catch them they had entered the military camps. In Killnochchi, Barathipuram, when two people entered the house, people tried to catch them but the military helped them to escape. In Jaffna, Navanthurai, the people tried to catch the man, while the military entered their houses and beat up people indiscriminately and arrested 118 people.

Mr. Gothabaya Rajapakse denied the existence of the grease man and said that these were all con- structed in an attempt to discredit the Government. Responding to allegations that the Government was instigating these incidents in order to extend Emergency Regulations he said that this was not their intention and the president has all power to extend or cancel emergency. Extending or withdrawing Emergency will not be influenced by external pressure from India, the US or the UK and not by the Grease man’.

-www.groundviews.org-

Human Rights Review : June — August 16 Institute of Human Rights REPORT FROM LEGAL ARTICLES UNIT 17 PRISON CLINIC

Date Conducted Prison No. of Lawyers Inmates

2nd July CRP 2 30 16th July Magazine 2 18 07th August CRP 02 36 Details of cases handled during the month of July Head Office Jaffna

Total Cases Total Category of Cases Appearance concluded appearance Assault 1 Offensive Weapons 3 1 (Magistrate Court) Robbery / Theft 3 1

(Magistrate Court) Drugs 22 7 (Magistrate Court) Murder 1

(Magistrate Court) Cheating and Fraud 2 1 (Magistrate Court) Quarrel 1

Divorce 4 1 Employment-Termination/ Interdiction/ Appeal 1

Maintenance 4 1 9

PTA/ER 40 2 1

Vagrant Ordinance 1

Total 82 14 11

Anurad- Mathara Kaluthara hapura

Appear- Ap- New Ap- New Category of Cases ance pear cases pearan cases ance ces

Bail Applications Offensive Weapons 4 (High Court) Ransom 2 1 (High Court) Heroine/Drugs 2 1 (Magistrate Court) Robbery / Theft 4

(Magistrate Court) Drugs 27 (Magistrate Court) Murder 2 Divorce 2 1 Maintenance 3 8 2 Money Matter 1 Writ - Mandamus/ certiorari/ Habeas 1 corpus

Total 6 10 2 41 2

Human Rights Review : June — August 17 Institute of Human Rights REPORT FROM RESTORATION & PROTECTION UNIT 18 Legal Training Family Support Counselling Program

Legal Training on laws related to workshop was organized and held at Rural Develop- A juvenile and regarding the juve- A ment and Research Centre, Borella on the 05th & 06th nile justice system was given to Com- August on Family Support Counseling for the Community Based munity Correction Officers and Police Correction (for Juveniles) stake holders who included ; Commu- Officers who will be going to work in nity Correction officers, Community leaders, Police Officers, juveniles Community Based Correction. Officer from Navoday – Department of Social Services, Officers The workshop was held on the 09th July from Career Guidance - Ministry of Productivity, Officer from 2011 at Rural Development and Re- Vocational Training Centre – Kollonawa, Officers from Sidhartha search Centre, Borella. Resource person Child Development Foundation and Save the Children was Mr. Harshana Nanayakkara, Attor- ney at Law (practicing lawyer/ Consult- ant for Probation Department)

Motor Mechanic Course Thaldena Young Offenders Correctional Center

In the month of June & July 2011 Practi- cals were carried out on the following areas in the Motor Mecahnic Course— Resource persons were Ms. Kanthi Hettigoda, Senior Counsellor Thaldena. & Senior Lecturer at Sri Lanka Foundation Institute, Dr. Mahesh Rajauriya, Psychiatric & Senior Lecturer of Faculty of Medicine, ♦Braking system practical Mr. Duminda Guruge (Lecturer - Rajarata University). ♦clutches Unit Practical ♦Functions of the clutches and identifying the errors and to rec- tify the problems ♦Gear Box 1.Sliding mesh gear box 2.Constant mesh gear box 3.Synchro mesh gear box ♦Practical on four stoke diesel engine ♦Practical on three wheel engine

We facilitated with the superintended with regard to the 02 work benches and the overalls. As it is required to conduct the practical session of the Motor Me- chanic Course at Thaldena for the Thal- dena detainees.

Human Rights Review : June — August 18 Institute of Human Rights REPORT FROM EDUCATION UNIT 19 Advanced refresher course for Sri Lanka army in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights

IHR was requested by the Sri Lanka Army to conduct one day lectures on Conflict Resolution at the above training programme at the International Peace Support Operation Training Sri Lanka at Kukulegaga on 25th August 2011.

24 Senior Non Commissioned Officers participated at this training programme. The lectures were conduct in Sinhala medium. The resource person was Ms. Tahirih Q Ayn – Director, Institute of Human Rights. Ms. Unita being the coordinator for the workshop.

Calling applications for Certificate & Diploma in Human Rights

he programme is an interactive course that explores the concept of human rights, discusses the T ‘rights’ dimension of global and local events and trends, and builds a community of individuals to par- ticipate in making a change. For whom : Students, teachers, doctors, lawyers, public sector, private sector, religious sector, NGO personnel, media personnel, youth leaders, service personnel, persons interested in human rights and current affairs. Delivered by : A panel of human rights academics, activists and professionals working with government,

Diploma in Human Rights Certificate Course in Human Rights

Mediums : English & Tamil Mediums : Sinhala & Tamil Commencement : November 2011 Commencement : October 2011 Course Duration : 06 months Course Duration : 03 months (Sessions every Saturdays from 9.00 am to 1.00 pm) Sinhala medium @ Matara The lectures will be conducted in Colombo Tamil medium @ Vavuniya & Hatton Course fee : Rs.15,000/- (Sessions every Saturdays from 9.00 am to 1.00 pm) Registration fee : Rs. 150/- Course fee : Rs.3,000/- Registration fee : Rs. 50/-

Members who are interested please visit our website for application forms or contact :

Priyanthi at [email protected] for Tel. Nos : 0112502703 or 0113158863 Sinhala Medium Website : www.ihrsrilanka.org Hashini at [email protected] for Institute of Human Rights English Medium 154, 02nd Floor B, Havelock Road, Colombo 05 Unita at [email protected] for Tamil Medium

Human Rights Review : June — August 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 [email protected] 011-2502703 Manager – Legal Neel Sujith Silva [email protected] Legal Officer Unica Fonseka Legal Officer V.S. Niranchan Senior Coordinator K Premaseeli Coordinator Varahini Canisius

Education Unit 011-2502703 [email protected] Grants & Education Manager 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]

Special Project 011-2559424 [email protected] Grants Administrator Gayani Meegamuge [email protected] Legal Officer Wasana Ellawala

Restoration and Protection Unit 011-2502810 Manager – Restoration and Protection Shirmilla Perera [email protected] Coordinator Hashini Mahesha Rajaratna [email protected]

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

Administration 011-2502703 [email protected] Senior Office Assistant / Driver M Kannadasan Front Officer V P Chandima Padmasiri Driver / Office Assistant Duminda Attygala

Jaffna Branch 021-2240999 Legal Consultant Jayasingham Jeyaruban Legal Consultant A. S. Athputharay Supervisor T. Sanmuganathan Office Assistant Regina Malini

Anuradhapura Branch 025 3899218 [email protected] Legal Officer Erandhi Thilakaratne Coordinator Dilki Priyanga

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

Kalutara Branch 034-3749090 Manager – Legal Neel Sujith Silva [email protected]

Human Rights Review : June — August 20 Institute of Human Rights