A Press Release from The National Christian Council of Sri Lanka

As reported in the local and international media an operation to evict Tamil civilians from North & East living in lodges in and around Colombo commenced in the early hours of 7th June 2007.

This inhuman act sent shock waves amongst many civil minded people. This caused panic, outrage, despair and anger. One can imagine what sort of anxiety would have been going in the minds of those who were forcibly evicted. We view this as a very short sighted act which does not augur well for our country. It is a serious violation of people’s fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution. This move was challenged by a fundamental rights petition filed in the Sri Lanka Supreme Court by the Centre for Policy Alternatives. We are very much pleased with the Interim Injunction order issued by the Supreme Court on 8th June 2007 to stop this brutality to our fellow-citizens. We also appreciate the steps taken by the Hon. President of Sri Lanka to call for a report from the Inspector General of Police (IGP). The people need an explanation. This report should be made public if the people are to trust the President and the Government.

It was also reported in the media that nine (9) unidentified bodies were found at Wennappuwa in the North Western Province. Their hands were tied behind their backs and blindfolded. The issues of abductions, disappearances and ransom money have been reported in the media recently. These incidents show the brutality around us. There seems to be total impunity. We also here of stories of abductions in the North and East and that the people in these regions live in fear. This spiral of violence and counter-violence is against humanity and the teachings of the four religions we profess.

The National Christian Council of Sri Lanka expresses our sympathy to those who had to under go such harassment. We condemn all these acts and appeal to all leaders; political, religious and civil to take all steps to stop such brutal acts of physical and mental violence and ensure that all people live in harmony based on justice and human dignity. We also call upon all peace loving citizens to use religious teachings and engage in dialogue as we have appealed over the last twenty five years. This cannot be postponed any further.

As a Christian community we assure all our people that we will continue to pray as in the past for God’s intervention and for empowerment of all of us to engage in the role of peace-making based on the word of Jesus who said, “Blessed are the Peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God”.

Signed on behalf of the following Churches
Methodist Church, Sri Lanka
Diocese of Colombo, Church of Ceylon
Diocese of Kurunagala, Church of Ceylon
Sri Lanka Baptist Sangamaya
Dutch Reformed Church
Jaffna Diocese of Church of South India
Presbyterian Church
Salvation Army

Rev. Dr. Jayasiri T. Peiris
General Secretary

EXPULSION OF TAMIL CITIZENS FROM COLOMBO

A Statement by the Rt Revd Duleep de Chickera, Bishop of Colombo

I refer to the disturbing news that Tamil civilians in and around Wellawatte and Pettah are being indiscriminately rounded up and deported to the Tamil areas in the North and East without adequate investigation or explanation.

This is a serious violation of the dignity and civic rights of these citizens of Sri Lanka and if these reports are true, this must be stopped and alternate security measures that safeguard the civic rights of all communities enforced.

The plight of those who have already been deported must be gone into immediately and appropriate remedial steps taken to enable them to once again pursue their legitimate business and interests. Where there has been reasonable suspicion for arrest and investigation, appropriate security procedures must be followed. In all this, the right of all communities in our country to be free to travel for personal and official business must be ensured by the State.

It is within this framework of equal civic rights and the freedom of travel and residence that all necessary security measures and contingency plans must be executed.

I appeal to the President of the country to address these concerns speedily and with understanding.

The Rt Revd Duleep de Chickera
Bishop of Colombo 7th June 2007

Police evict Tamils from Colombo

BBC News: 8 June 2007

Police in Sri Lanka have forced hundreds of the minority Tamil community out of the capital Colombo for what they say are security reasons.
They launched overnight raids in Tamil areas of the city and forced guests staying in budget hotels onto buses.

Police said that Tamils who were in the capital "without valid reasons" were made to board buses bound for the north and east of the island.

Police said that the move was necessary amid fears of renewed civil war.

'Bad example'

They said that the crackdown was part of continuing efforts to stop the Tamil Tigers infiltrating the city of 600,000 people.

They also said the measure was being taken for the safety of the Tamil community amid a rash of abductions across Colombo blamed on the rebels and the security forces.

A statement released by the government said that the evictions were made "without communal considerations".

It said they were directed at anyone occupying lodgings or temporary residences in Colombo and cannot provide valid reasons for doing so.

"There have been instances where some 'lodgers' have lived in the Colombo area for over six months without making any progress, on the pretext that someone has to obtain his or her identity card or passport," the statement said.

"The resulting action by the police is required considering security demands such as the recent Tamil Tiger bomb explosions resulting in several innocent lives lost, and severe damage to property.

"Investigations have also confirmed that those responsible for these brutal killings have hatched their brutal plans and executed them from these lodgings," the statement said.

It said that a total of 376 persons - 291 males and 85 females - have left in seven buses for destinations in the north and east.

The Tamil Tigers have so far not commented on the evictions, but mainstream Tamil political leaders have condemned it.

"This operation is a very bad example," Tamil political leader Dharmalingam Sithadthan told the AFP news agency.

"It is OK for the Tamil Tigers to indulge in this sort of ethnic cleaning because they have no moral responsibility, but a government can't behave like this," he said.

'Serious violation'

Colombo Inspector General of police Rohan Abeywardene told Reuters that some people who had no valid reasons to be in Colombo were "just hanging around".

"They have been requested to leave and told they had better get back to their own villages," he said.

Correspondents say that hundreds of Tamils, many from impoverished rural areas, live in boarding houses in Colombo while they seek work at home or abroad.

Many ethnic Tamils complain they have been deliberately targeted by the security forces, detained and searched.

One man forced to board one of the buses called the private local radio station Sirisa FM from a mobile phone.

"The police came and took us and put everyone on the bus," he said, saying the bus was about 32km (20 miles) outside the capital, heading northeast.

"We don't know where we are being taken."

Human rights campaigners and other observers say they are shocked at what they say is a serious violation of human rights.

"This is almost like a variation of ethnic cleansing," Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu of the independent Centre for Policy Alternatives think-tank told Reuters.

"It is quite appalling."

Warning Signs that Democratic Space is Threatened

National Peace Council
of Sri Lanka
12/14 Purana Vihara Road
Colombo 6
Tel: 2818344, 2854127, 2819064
Tel/Fax:2819064
E Mail: npc@sltnet.lk
Internet: www.peace-srilanka.org


04.05.07
Media Release

Warning Signs that Democratic Space is Threatened


The deterioration in the security situation has had a catastrophic impact on substantial sections of the civilian population, especially those living in the north and east. In this context the government has recently decided to vest powers of the police with the military.President Mahinda Rajapaksa has issued a gazette notification that the armed forces are expected to perform the functions of the police. The National Peace Council is extremely concerned with this latest development. We are apprehensive that this government decision will send wrong signals and lead to an aggravation of the hardships faced by the civilian population.

The new regulations come at a time when there are reports of violations of human rights by both police and military personnel. According to preliminary findings announced by a civic group, PAFFREL, which is working together with the Human Rights Commission and the Police, about 30 police and military personnel are among 452 persons arrested in connection with human rights abuses, including abduction, disappearances and murders. The National Peace Council believes that these findings reiterate the importance of restoring the integrity of law and order processes in the country.

One positive initiative by the government that we welcome has been the order of the Defence Secretary to the security forces that they should strictly follow guidelines that respect human rights in making arrests and detentions. However, the vesting of police functions in the armed forces can negate this positive order. The police function is a civilian one, and the military is not trained in police methods of dealing with disturbances to law and order. This decision can also send wrong signals to the security forces, and to local and international society regarding the direction of the government.

There is an urgent need for the government to demonstrate clear political will in regard to law and order processes if it is to retain the confidence of the civilian population that it is not taking the country on a journey to anarchy and to the breakdown of democratic governance. This past week has seen the assassination of yet another journalist in Jaffna, belonging to the Uthayan newspaper and threats to stop work that are being levelled against NGOs in the name of the TMVP (Karuna group), which TMVP spokespersons deny making. It is incumbent on the government to take these complaints seriously and to take measures to apprehend the culprits so that faith in the democratic institutions of the country may be on the path to restoration.


Executive Director
On behalf of the Governing Council

Humanitarian workers under threat

THE OBSERVATORY FOR THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS (FIDH-OMCT)

PRESS RELEASE
Geneva-Paris, May 2, 2007.

The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), in the framework of their joint programme, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, express their deepest concern at threats directly targeting humanitarian workers in Sri Lanka, and in particular members of the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies (CHA).

On April 17, 2007, an email was sent to NGOs and United Nations agencies working in the Trincomalee district (eastern Sri Lanka) by a group claiming to be the Intelligence Unit of the Thamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal Party (TMVP), the political party headed by Colonel Karuna and a breakaway group of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). In this email, NGOs were required to fill in a registration form and submit it before April 30, 2007. They were notably asked to "stop [their] bad behaviours" and to join LTTE as this would "create peace full country". Besides, the email warned that for those failing to register TMVP would "not [be] responsible for [their] security in North and East".

Three days later, on April 20, 2007, another threatening message was sent to the humanitarian NGOs that are members of the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies (CHA) as well as to UN workers in eastern Sri Lanka. The authors of this email said that they were "following CHA very closely" and that they "would take necessary steps to eliminate them if needed". They added that they would guarantee "full security to who ever co-operate - if not face the consequences after the deadline".

Subsequently, the TMVP denied having sent these emails.

The Observatory expresses its deep concern at these threats, especially as they take place in a context of increased threats against humanitarian workers, defenders working for peace and journalists, in particular in the northern and eastern provinces, in particular since the intensification of the conflict in July 2006. The Observatory recalls that, in this context, the Sri Lankan government has imposed an unofficial embargo on humanitarian aid in the zones controlled by the LTTE and that various restrictions were put on humanitarian workers, regarding, in particular, their registration process. These restrictions and the attacks on humanitarian workers have led several organisations to suspend their humanitarian activities[1].

As a consequence, the Observatory calls upon the Sri Lankan authorities to guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of all human rights defenders, including humanitarian workers, as well as to end all forms of harassment of human rights defenders and guarantee in all circumstances that they are able to carry out their work without any hindrance. The Observatory also urges the LTTE to conform n any circumstances with the provisions of international humanitarian law.

More generally, the Observatory urges the authorities to conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 9 December 1998, especially its article 12.2, which provides that "the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration", and to ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by Sri Lanka.

For further information, please contact :
OMCT : Delphine Reculeau : + 41 22 809 49 39
FIDH : Gael Grilhot: +33 1 43 55 25 18

Tamil Tigers attack fuel installations

From Journalist Iqbal Atha

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (CNN) -- The Tamil Tiger rebel group has claimed responsibility for the Saturday bombing of two fuel installations that prompted heavy security, a two-hour blackout in Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo, and disrupted activity at its airport.

"These oil installations at Muthurajawela and Kolonnawa are supplying fuel to the security forces, particularly the air force," spokesman Rasiah Ilanthiriyan told CNN via satellite telephone from the rebel-held town of Kilinochchi in northern Sri Lanka.

The two rebel aircraft that were involved in the attacks "successfully accomplished their mission," with two installations on fire, Ilanthiriyan said.

At least five people, including three soldiers, were injured and hospitalized in the incident, and the Sri Lanka air force launched retaliatory strikes against rebel targets in the northern Wanni region.

The attacks occurred as many people were awake, watching Sri Lanka's cricket team play Australia in the World Cup final on television, The Associated Press reported.

Military officials confirmed the two targets. Officials said the bombing of a fuel storage complex in the northeast suburb of Muthurajawela breached a pipeline and triggered a fire that the fire brigade later extinguished. But no damage was caused by the bombing near an oil storage tank in the Colombo suburb of Kolonnawa, they said.

The incoming rebel aircraft were first reported by a detachment at Palavi, about 110 kilometers (68 miles) north of the main air base at Katunayake, the air force said. The report prompted a total blackout in Colombo -- the second in a week.

Anti-aircraft fire was directed at the sky in several places, including the southern town of Ratmalana, where a military air base is located, and at the Katunayakeanti air base, near the Colombo International Airport.

The incident was the third in a week.

Fears of an air attack triggered a blackout in Colombo on Thursday and forced its international airport to temporarily shut down. Government officials had said the Sri Lanka air force received reports of three unidentified aircraft, believed to belong to Tamil Tiger rebels, flying over the town of Puttalam.

A day earlier, rebel aircraft bombed an army engineers unit at Myliddy, home to the main military headquarters in the northern Jaffna peninsula, killing six soldiers and wounding 13.

The Tamil Tigers have been fighting for a separate homeland for the Tamil minority in the north and east since 1983, citing decades of discrimination by the majority Sinhalese.

About 65,000 people died before a 2002 cease-fire, which has been frayed by fighting between the military and Tamil Tigers in recent months. The government has vowed to dislodge the rebels from their eastern stronghold.

Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

Expression of concern by the general secretary of the World Council of Churches

20 April 2007

The ethnic conflicts and violence, which have been raging in Sri Lanka, have become a matter of serious concern again in recent weeks. Reports from Sri Lanka continue to reflect the alarming deterioration of the situation in the country. The intensification of killing and violence has turned more and more areas of the country into a battlefield. The escalation of fighting causes the deaths of innocent civilians, military personnel and rebel cadres daily, while the number of abductions, conscription of children, and displacement of people is on the increase. Civilians are caught up in fighting between the Government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE). Aerial bombing, mortar shelling and the use of claymore mines have added to the plight of the already suffering people. The northern and eastern parts of the country remain isolated with access in certain areas severely restricted. More than 200,000 civilians have been displaced in recent weeks.

The Cease Fire Agreement, signed between the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE on 2 February 2002, was considered promising in the efforts towards ending the ethnic conflict. The international community had extended support to the initiative hoping that it would result in both parties refraining from activities that would undermine the good intentions behind the agreement or impede confidence building measure. However, both the Government and the LTTE violated the Cease Fire Agreement despite the warnings and rulings against them by the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission set up to monitor the ceasefire's implementation. The escalation of violence since the end of 2005 has pushed this Norwegian-backed peace process onto the back burner despite earlier appeals from the international community. Now, despite the ensuing humanitarian crisis in the northern and eastern parts of the country, Sri Lanka appears to have been forgotten by the international community.

Over the years, the World Council of Churches has monitored the situation in Sri Lanka and called for negotiations between the parties whenever and wherever possible. We are deeply distressed by the current intensification of fighting which affects the lives of thousands of innocent people in the country. Taking into account the protracted fighting in Sri Lanka we in the WCC are convinced that the pursuit of a final military solution is an exercise in futility; the parties to the conflict need to commit themselves to a political solution as the only viable and noble alternative.

We, therefore, appeal to the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE to return to the obligations of the Cease Fire Agreement and to therein seek durable solutions to end the fighting that is affecting the lives of so many people. As WCC we strongly appeal to the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE to reach a settlement of the ethnic conflicts and put an end to the violence through dialogue and negotiations.

In addition, we urge all parties responsible for the conflict to respect the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacements and International Humanitarian Law, making every effort to ensure the security, human rights and dignity of each individual in Sri Lanka.

On behalf of the World Council of Churches I call upon Christians and churches around the world to be constant in prayer for all the people of Sri Lanka who have been undergoing such a traumatising ordeal.

We pray for God’s grace and guidance for the efforts of all those who are engaged in their efforts for peace in the country, especially the churches in Sri Lanka working towards peace, reconciliation and reconstruction.

May the grace of God inspire and guide the people of Sri Lanka in their longing for peace with justice, reconciliation and communal harmony in their country.

Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia
General Secretary