Sri Lanka: 600 activists barred from attending demonstration
Event- Country
- Sri Lanka
- Initial Date
- Mar 5, 2013
- Final Date
- Mar 6, 2013
- Event Description
On 5 March 2013, about 600 human rights defenders, including relatives of disappeared persons from Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaithivu, Mannar and Vavuniya districts, were reportedly heading to Colombo in a convoy of 13 buses in order to attend a peaceful demonstration organized by the Association of the Families Searching for the Disappeared Relatives, an association set up to seek justice for victims of enforced disappearances, and thereafter march to the United Nations office in Colombo with a view to submitting a petition. This peaceful protest was meant to be part of a larger advocacy campaign organized by relatives of disappeared persons.When defenders started gathering at the Vavuniya Urban Council (VUC) ground in Vavuniya, men in plainclothes, believed to be intelligence officers, started enquiring about the identity of the organizer, and the purpose and funding of their trip. The men advised them to return home. Around 5.30p.m., police officials registered the details of the buses and drivers, and then agreed to allow the buses to proceed to Colombo, although it is reported that no such registration, nor permission, is needed for buses and private vehicles to travel from Vavuniya to the capital or any other destination. At 8.30p.m., when the buses, loaded with people, started to move out from the VUC ground, the police reportedly stopped them on alleged security grounds since, according to the police, a bus had been stoned between Vavuniya and Anuradhapura. The police claimed that they would not be able to ensure the security of the convoy should it proceed.The police eventually resorted to block the path in front of the buses with their trucks. The military was reportedly ready to intervene. Defenders inside the buses became disconcerted, and the police gave them assurances that they would be allowed to travel the following day at 4.30a.m.. On 6 March 2013, at 1:00a.m., 11 bus drivers were reportedly called by men dressed in plainclothes, believed to be police officers, to remove the buses from inside the VUC ground. The men warned the bus drivers that they would be prevented from working in Vavuniya, and that they could lose their route passes enabling them to operate commercial buses in the north of the country, should they not follow their instructions. As a consequence, nine of the 11 bus drivers moved the vehicles outside the VUC ground, and drove their buses home. It is further alleged that two more bus drivers received similar threats on the phone, and they reportedly removed the buses from Pampaimadu, about 10 kilometers west of Vavuniya, where their buses had been parked. At 5:00 a.m. the organizers went to the police headquarters, and were told that they could leave after 5.30 a.m. However, it is reported that at the same time the police instructed all bus drivers in Vavuniya, including the Private Bus Owners Association, not to drive the peaceful demonstrators to Colombo, warning them that they would be in trouble should they do so. The organizers eventually had no other choice than cancelling their travel to Colombo.They decided to peacefully march to the office of the Government Agent with a view to handing over a memorandum to him, in which they called, inter alia, for the release or disclosure of names of individuals abducted and detained. After some exchanges between representatives of the group of peaceful demonstrators and the Government Agent, the latter went out of his office to receive the memorandum.At 2:00p.m., a delegation of human rights defenders and members of political parties met with the Inspector-General of Police in Colombo to report and enquire about the action of law enforcement authorities who prevented their colleagues from reaching Colombo to attend a peaceful demonstration.
- Impact of Event
- 600
- Violation
- Enforced Disappearance
- Intimidation and Threats
- Rights Concerned
- Access to justice
- Freedom of assembly
- Freedom of movement
- Right to Protest
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Not active
- Event Location
Latitude: 8.73815719999999
Longitude: 80.47714719999999
- Event Location
- Summary for Publications
On 5 March 2013, 600 activists from northern Sri Lanka seeking justice for enforced disappearances were barred from traveling to Colombo to attend a rally organised by the Association of the Families Searching for Disappeared Relatives. Their buses were blocked by police until protestors went home, their bus drivers were ordered not to transport the passengers to Colombo, and private bus companies in the region also received the same order. Police claimed that the protesters were not allowed to make the trip because they risked being attacked along the way.