CENTER FOR PEACE & RECONCILIATION 08, Grousseault Road Jaffna Sri Lanka Tel / Fax 021 222 8131 E mail: [email protected] Web site: www.peacecentrejaffna.lk STUDENTS COMMUNITY IN NORTH & EAST IS TERRIFIED Parts of Sri Lanka, namely North and East are becoming a deadly place for the students, teachers or education officials. Attacks on education often escape international attention amid the general fighting in conflict-affected countries. However, the number of reported assassinations and intimidation, bombings and burnings of school and academic staff and buildings has risen dramatically in the past three years, reflecting the increasingly bloody nature of local conflicts around Sri Lanka. I strongly suggest that the worst-affected Schools, Colleges, Universities and other academic Institutions that should be safe havens for children, have increasingly become the prime target of attacks by armed parties. The students in the North and East of Sri Lanka are highly at stake. The Government continues not only to be indifferent to establish security measures against the massive death threat mounting on the students community but also it promotes the underworld activities by using its collaborating paramilitary viz. EPDP and Karuna Faction. Systematic suppression of Judiciary and the law enforcement authorities; Geographical set up of Jaffna Peninsula, PTA, Emergency Regulation, Multi-presence of Military, infiltration of LTTE into Government controlled area, activities of the Paramilitary have been hampering the study programme of the students in North and East. This is a part of the package deal of the Government to suppress the study programme of the students in the North and East. In the LTTE controlled area, the students are terrorised by forcible recruitment, intimidation and restriction in freedom of movement and expression. Students are abducted and recruited by the LTTE. In totality, the students in the Government controlled area and in the LTTE controlled area are equally threatened for different purpose. I try to focus on targeted violent attacks, carried out for political, military, ideological, sectarian, ethnic or religious reasons, against students, teachers, academics, education officials and all those who work in or for education institutions such as schools, colleges and universities. I would like to draw your kind attention on the students who are exposed to grave danger in Jaffna in particular and North and East in General. The students who are abducted are missing forever. However, the students who are abducted and forcibly recruited by the LTTE are given a chance to visit the family members after 3 months of arms training. The focus here is the student community is terrified and the government while remaining passive perpetrators, promotes the active perpetrators to fetter the study programme of the students. It is the prime duty of the state to protect the children as it has signed the CRC. The Government of Sri Lanka is keen on expelling the Tamil intellectuals and educationists. They have a hidden agenda to execute to reduce the literacy rate of the Tamils. Strenuous effort of the Government to jeopardise the study programme of the Tamil students is successfully underway. The LTTE is on the other hand is keen on choking the intellectuals and the educationists who have pluralistic views and promote alternatives opinions. Death Threats to the Academic Staff and to the Students in Jaffna Almost every nook and corner in Jaffna is tightly secured by the security forces. Thanks for their security services. However, enormous doubt arises in everybody’s mind is that how is it possible for those who distribute the threat notices to the students and to the academic staff in the presence of the security forces. The suspicions snowball and force everyone to conclude that the threat fliers are distributed either by the security forces or by those who are employed shortly by the security forces (Paramilitary). Unwarranted interference of the armed men, escalating intimidation to the students, indifferent approach of the Government to the non-violent claim of the students to stop violence over students have paved a way to consistently curtail academic programme of the students. The students have amply expressed their concern to the responsible authorities. Once again, I would like to draw your attention on the students of North and East of Sri Lanka. Both the Government and the LTTE are exploiting the student community to achieve their short term and long term, petty and selfish goals. Attached below is the flier issued to the university students by the unknown gunmen in the heavy presence of the security forces in the University of Jaffna on May 8, 2007. Flier 1 (on page No. 3) Translation of the Flier 1 FINAL WARNING Having meticulously followed all - the Vice-chancellor, professors, lecturers, representatives of the student union, students and employees of the Jaffna University- it has come to be known that many are acting closely with the Tiger terrorists and also helping them. It has come to be known also that many of these have not only received arms training from the Tiger terrorists but also have gained competence in handling heavy weapons. We also know that many of these are now functioning jointly with the Tigers in many places in the Vanni. Further! 85 from the Arts and fine arts faculty 69 from the Management and Commerce 57 from the Science faculty 42 from the Medical faculty 39 from the agriculture faculty 07 from the Siddha medicine faculty and 24 employees have been identified as punishable criminals for trafficking firearms for the LTTE; causing loss of lives for the security forces; passing information about the security forces to the Tiger terrorists; releasing of statements and leaflets slandering the security force personnel; carrying out terrorist activities; defaming the Sri Lanka Socialist Republic; encouraging the terrorist activities of the LTTE by voicing from time to time in their favour; procuring financial and other helps for the Tiger terrorists; all the persons have to be given the death penalty. Having passed many neglected occasions, we are awaiting proper opportunity to punish all of them. “National Alliance for the Defense of the country Jaffna” “Let us save the country or let us die” The fact that the college students are also on the black list of the unknown gunmen who collaborate closely with the security forces discloses that law and order in the country is in chaos. Attached below is flier issued to the college students. Death threat to the college students is escalating and it curtails the normal study programme of the students. Flier 2 Translation of Flier 2 Protect the dignity of the School Uniform Those of you who wearing the school uniform and joining the terrorists, were involved in terrorist activities, we give you a final warning! J/ Hindu College Thusan, Selvanayagam, Mathurangan, Santhuru, Namenthira, Aravinthan, Ramanan, Nisanthan, Ramani, Sivakumar (Teacher) Kokkuvil / Hindu College Niruba, Athavan J/ St. John’s College Sarangan, Jena, Pilapalam J/ Central College Pirasanthan (Vakka), Kidman Our organization has received information that you have joined with Kuhan (Satha), Kunenthiran (Kuna), Kannan, Iniyavan, and Anutheepan (Jeya) who belong to the terrorist organization and believing their attractive words have received arms training, and have been connected with or involved in terrorist activities like carrying weapons in your book bags; hiding and keeping pistol, grenade, claymore; undertaking grenade attack; organizing struggle by boycotting of classes; setting fire to tyres or buses; forced selling of the magazine call ‘Salaram’ to the students. We have taken a decision to meet out the death penalty to such traitors like you. However, because you are school students, we have decided to give you one and only one chance. Ignoring the guidance of your parents full of love for you, and joining the terrorists and without thinking about your life, if you involve yourselves in further destructive activities, we have to reluctantly inform you that we shall certainly execute the death penalty. Parents! Do not permit your children to be involved in terrorist activities. Principal and the teachers! Watch over the activities of the students. Show them the right path. “Tamil Alliance for the Defense of the country (Sri Lanka) Jaffna District” “Let us die if the motherland is not there; we shall win.” Attached is a complaint lodged with Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka at Jaffna Regional Branch on May 12, 2007. This is an evidence how the academic staff are tortured, intimidated, threatened and abducted in Jaffna. Ponnaiya Sivakumar, 36/5, B.A. Thamby Lane, Vannarponnai, Jaffna 12-05-2007 The Coordinator, Human Rights Commission, Jaffna Sir, On May 4, 2007 Friday, at about 11.40 in the night, many armed unidentified persons came into my house compound jumping over the wall. While many stood surrounding my house, many others entered my house breaking our door and attacked me. They threatened my wife at the point of weapons and locked her in a room telling her not to come out. They then arrested me, took me out of the house, tied my hands behind me and also blindfolded me and attacked me. Then they themselves took my motor cycle out. Then they took me on motorcycle to another place and arrested the brother of my wife from their house. After some hours and after my hearing the cries of my brother in law, they transferred me to another place. They were threatening me not to tell anyone of my arrest and torture inflicted on me. Then they untied my hands and unfolded my eyes. Having released me at the College Street, they handed over my motorcycle to me and warned me not to turn and look. I did not lodge any complaints with police and army about abduction and torture due to fear.