Sri Lanka’s truth commission ignores torture and evades accountability

Freedom from Torture
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Read he report: Freedom from Torture’s Evidence of Ongoing Torture

The Sri Lankan government’s unconvincing efforts to demonstrate that it is ready to deal with atrocities committed by both sides during the end of the brutal civil war reached the end of the line last week with the publication of the final report by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC).

The Commission, established by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a bid to stave off international scrutiny, has taken small steps towards exposing a fuller picture of what happened during the gruesome final stages of the conflict. Its report puts to bed outlandish claims made previously by the government that there were no civilian casualties in the war, acknowledges that hospitals were indeed shelled and is critical of disappearances which continue to cause pain and suffering for many Sri Lankan families.

But on the all important question of accountability, the Commission has completely failed to deliver. While conceding individual incidents may require further investigation, the Commission declares itself satisfied that protection of civilians was given ‘the highest priority’ in the military strategy and that civilians were not targeted, thereby ducking the central issue of command responsibility for international crimes that are widely suspected to have occurred. In a move that highlights the unbalanced nature of the report overall, the Commission makes much stronger findings in relation to specific violations of the laws of war and human rights by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

On the fact that the 388-page report makes not a single reference to torture in Sri Lanka, Freedom from Torture CEO, Keith Best, commented:

The remarkable failure to acknowledge at all, let alone address, widespread use of torture by the Sri Lankan authorities – either during or following the conflict – makes a mockery of the Commission's objective to promote reconciliation by recognising the losses and suffering of the past. Either the Commission has chosen to paper over any testimony of torture that it received, or such testimony was withheld because the Commission lacked the confidence of Sri Lanka's countless torture survivors and their families.

“As the UN panel of experts pointed out in its report earlier this year, the lack of any victim or witness protection scheme was just one of the Commission's many structural failings. Either way, the exclusion of torture issues fatally undermines the Commission’s credibility.”

The audacity of this omission is obvious when read against Freedom from Torture’s evidence of ongoing torture and the concerns voiced recently by the UN Committee Against Torture about ‘continued and consistent allegations of widespread use of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of suspects in police custody’ and reports suggesting that ‘torture and ill-treatment perpetrated by state actors, both the military and the police, have continued in many parts of the country after the conflict ended in May 2009 and is still occurring in 2011’. The contrast is well demonstrated by comparing the concerns voiced by the UN Committee about allegations of torture and ill-treatment of those detained in military-run internment camps against the findings of the Commission that the authorities should be congratulated for their 'caring attitude' towards those detained following the conflict.

Keith Best concluded: The UK government has insisted that Sri Lanka demonstrate ‘progress’ on accountability for international crimes by the end of 2011. The LLRC report has been issued on the eve of this deadline but there is no getting around the fact that the necessary progress has not been achieved. Accountability remains elusive and robust international action supported by the UK to achieve an ‘independent, comprehensive and credible inquiry’ is now unavoidable. The next session of the UN Human Rights Council provides an opportunity that must not be missed.”

© Freedom from Torture

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Sri Lanka: Sivaram murder case postponed

BBC Sinhala
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The trial of the murder of journalist Dharmaratnam Sivaram (Taraki) scheduled to begin on Thursday, six years after the assassination has been postponed until April.

Colombo High Court judge P. Surasena postponed the hearing as six witnesses including two policemen failed to present themselves at court.

The judge also dissolved the Sinhala speaking jury called in for the hearing.

State Counsel told court that proceedings could not continue as six important witnesses were not available for the hearing.

Witnesses not present

The court instructed the state counsel to produce the witnesses on April 25.

Arumugam Sri Skandharaja, also known as Peter who was arrested and released on bail in connection with the murder was also present at the court on Thursday.

The Attorney General had filed charges against him in 2006. But the case did not proceed further despite having taken for hearing few times for over five years.

Taraki, the founding editor of TamilNet was abducted in Colombo on 28 April 2005.

His body was found dumped in Sri Jayawardenepura, a high security zone, a day later.

International and Sri Lankan media watchdogs have voiced anger over lack of progress in murder investigation.

© BBC Sinhala

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Lanka sends slain British tourist''s body back home

PTI | MSN News
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The body of Khuram Shaikh, the British tourist murdered in Sri Lanka on Christmas eve has been sent back home, the UK High Commission said here today.

Shaikh, a 32 year old working for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the Gaza strip was on holiday at a hotel in the southern resort of Tangalle.

He died as a result of a deep stab wound and a single firearm injury to the head and multiple cuts.

He was accompanied on holiday by a Russian national, Victoria Rustkacheva, who was seriously injured in a subsequent attack.

The British officials said the victim''s brother was in Colombo meeting local officials to inquire about the investigations towards bringing to book those responsible.

At least six people including the ruling party''s chairman of the local council in Tangalle are under arrest for the murder.

The government here has stressed that there will be no cover up in the investigations despite the involvement of the ruling party''s local politician.

"From the assurances I have received today I am confident that the Sri Lankan authorities have what they need to bring those responsible for the brutal murder of my brother, and the vicious attack on Victoria, to Justice," Nasir Shaikh, the slain tourist''s brother has said.

The attack on the British tourist deeply hurt the industry officials who feared large scale cancellation of bookings.

Sri Lanka looks up to tourism as an engine of growth in the island's post conflict phase since the defeat of the LTTE''s campaign for separatism in May 2009.

© PTI

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