Uwazi

The families were met by a heavy police presence who claimed to have obtained a court order from the Eravur Magistrate Court to stop the protest from going ahead.

However, the organisers had notified the health department and the police department prior to the planned protest but were still disrupted by the police. This forms part of the ongoing surveillance and attempts to intimidate families and community representatives who are seeking justice for their loved ones.

Families from Jaffna, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya, Mannar, Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Ampara had travelled to Chenkalady to participate in the protest organised by the North Eastern Missing Person Organisation.

While the families have been campaigning for over a decade, they have been continuously protesting for over 1,250 days, demanding the fate of their relatives to be revealed.

Tamil Guardian

Denying the allegations leveled over a supposedly large-scale hotel built near the Sinharaja Forest, Yoshitha Rajapaksa, son of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, has sent a letter of demand to environmentalist Sajeewa Chamikara through his lawyers seeking a compensation of Rs. 500 million within seven days.

Rajapaksa in his letter cites that Chamikara's statement is false, baseless and insulting.

Chamikara on August 19 told media that a large scale hotel belonging to Yoshitha Rajapaksa was built in the Sinharaja Forest and a road is being developed penetrating the forest canvass to enter the hotel.

Rajapaksa also makes the following demands in his letter;

Acknowledge that there is no truth to this statement and plead apology Inform the relevant media institutions or parties to remove this news item, had it been published on media, and make arrangements to remove the news item Acknowledge before media through a press release that there is no truth to this statement Statement that no baseless allegations will be leveled against Mr. Yoshitha Rajapaksa again Payment of Rs. 500 million as compensation within 07 days

Lanka News Web

Two journalists who are in hospital after been violently beaten up and threatened with death while investigating an illegal logging racket, fear for their safety as the assailants are roaming free with apparent protection from authorities.

On 12 Monday afternoon, Shanmugam Thavaseelan and Kanapathipillai Kumanan covering illicit felling in the Mullaitivu district were attacked by illegal loggers wielding clubs and an adze. Most of their photographic evidence was destroyed while they managed to save few video footage.

“The leader of the thugs who attacked us is roaming freely even though there are multiple complaints against him and several arrest warrants,” Thavaseelan who lost a couple of his front teeth had told fellow journalists visiting him in the Mullaitivu District Hospital.

“This shows the level of protection he enjoys. He had an adze in his hand which he threatened to use to cut me down to pieces. If some in the gang did not stop him, I would have been dead by now. If they are not arrested our lives are in danger.”

Four men on motorbikes

The two Tamil journalists were investigating a tip-off about an illegal logging operation in the Murippu forest reserve adjoining a cultivated teak range. While the teak was legally felled by a supplier to the State Timber Corporation (STC) the bordering forest reserve was illegally logged by another who was allegedly introduced to the supplier by the Beat Forest Officer (BFO) of the range. Locals are convinced that the illegal logger was running a timber racket in collusion with the licensed supplier and forestry officials under the guise of supplying legitimate timber to STC.

When Thavaseelan and Kumanan visited the nearby Kumulamuani east, they found a two-floor timber construction within a clearing enclosed in a bared wire fence with teak posts. The journalists estimate that at least 200 logs went to build the enclosure.

Four men on motorbikes confronted the journalists who were filming what they saw.

“We told them that we are hearing about illegal logging and what they have to say about it,” said Thavaseelan.

“Then they beat us up. Kumanan was from that village. They accused him of doing harm to the village and banged him heavily on the head. He started bleeding. I was attacked with an adze. I lost my teeth. The leader threatened to kill us.”

Attacked and robbed

The four forced them to the enclosure, their recordings were wiped off and memory cards were removed. Their money was stolen.

Once inside the enclosure, the attackers filmed the two journalists accusing them of illegal entry and theft.

“I told them that they can lodge a complaint with the police if we have committed any offence,” said Thavaseelan.

The assailants released the two journalists later who lodged a complaint at the Mullaitivu police station and were admitted to the Mullaitivu District Hospital.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has rubbished exposures of illegal logging in forest reserves as “fake news campaigns”. In contrast, Defence Secretary Major General Kamal Gunaratne who admitted in public that the ongoing illegal timber racket is a serious threat to the environment, pledged to take action against it with the assistance of the president’s sibling and State Minister for Internal Security Chamal Rajapaksa.

JDS Sri Lanka

The Free Media Movement strongly condemns the attack carried out on the Derana TV journalist Indunil Wijenayake in Monaragala, while he was there to cover an incident of unauthorized sand mining in the Kumbukkan Oya.

According to reports we have received, journalist Indunil Wijenayake has gone to report an incident of illegal sand mining around the Kumbukkan Oya. At that time, he was attacked by a group of people who obstructed his attempt to report, and as a result of the assault, he had to be admitted to the Monaragala Hospital for treatment. A complaint has been lodged with the Monaragala Police regarding the incident, and it has been reported that the police have commenced investigations into the incident and arrested one suspect.

During the past journalist have reported on unauthorized sand mining in various parts of the country, and recently with the police media spokesperson stating that those reports were instrumental and extremely helpful in the police investigations, it has validated and acknowledged the importance of the role of journalists.

The Government of Sri Lanka has a responsibility to protect the country’s rare natural resources through local environmental regulations as well as through international conventions.

In such a context, in the past journalists who have been engaged in reporting on the environment have been harassed and threatened on several occasions by people suspected of engaging in crimes against the environment. If the law were enforced adequately concerning such incidents, journalists would not often have to fall prey to these environmental criminals. Therefore, the Free Media Movement calls on the authorities to immediately conduct an impartial inquiry into the incident and enforce the law regardless of the status of the suspects.

Sri Lanka Brief

Last week Jaffna-based lawyer and widely respected academic Dr Kumaravadivel Guruparan handed in his notice of resignation from his post as Senior Lecturer of the Department of Law at the University of Jaffna. As he wrote in a powerful open letter, it was a move made “with utmost pain and sadness”. He has been, and continues to be, subjected to a long-standing process of state-led harassment, which is aimed squarely at silencing voices of dissent. Not only is this a massive loss to academia on the island, but it is a stark and dangerous marker of the road that Sri Lanka is hurtling down.

As Guruparan made painfully clear, this was a move he was compelled to make. His letter comes after a ban was imposed on him by the Council of the University of Jaffna to engage in private legal practice, following pressure from the Sri Lankan military after he took up a public interest habeas corpus case into the 1996 disappearance of more than two dozen Tamil youth. In August last year, Sinhala speaking men dressed in civil uniform photographed the Tamil lawyers in the courtroom, in a brazen act of intimidation. One of the men was then seen getting into a car belonging to the Deputy Solicitor General representing the Sri Lankan army. Shortly after, the Terrorism Investigation Division visited the Jaffna office of the Adayaalam Centre for Policy Research (ACPR), a human rights think tank Guruparan co-founded and was executive director of at the time. Just weeks later, the military sent a letter to the University Grants Commission (UGC) questioning whether Guruparan had permission to engage in private practice. Acting swiftly, the UGC that very same day forwarded the letter to Jaffna University and shortly thereafter, the UGC passed a memo barring Guruparan from private practice.

Though he has courageously attempted to challenge the ban, the drawn-out legal process which has seen bizarre claims made against the Attorney-at-Law, has understandably taken its toll. “I cannot continue my work as a law teacher whilst being barred from this social engagement that I have had with the law,” he wrote, stating it was “something that I consider as being an inseparable part of the profile of an engaged academic”.

The driving forces behind this targeting are clear. As Guruparan noted, this has nothing to do with his academic role and his engagement with legal practice – which had already been clearly marked out before he took on the lecturer role. It is because Guruparan, as a Tamil lawyer, attempted to use the law to hold the Sri Lankan government accountable for grave violations it continues to try and keep buried.

The targeted harassment of Guruparan has happened alongside the Sri Lankan state ramping up its repression of dissenting voices over the past year, particularly from Tamils and Muslims. Lawyers, human rights defenders and activists have come under increasing fire, with some even jailed for their work. Our journalist colleagues and correspondents based in the North-East too have faced an increase in the intimidation that for decades has plagued their profession. Incidents of state violence have increased and as Sinhala nationalist rhetoric grows louder ahead of elections next month, the Tamil homeland remains fearfully braced for further repression.

The capitulation of Jaffna university should also not be overlooked. As Guruparan noted, “the track record of my University in upholding the rule of law, good governance, academic freedom and basic norms of dignity has been bitterly disappointing”. The Sri Lankan government has always viewed the University of Jaffna in particular with contempt and wariness. It has long been seen as a hotbed of Tamil activism, with students continuing to bravely hold protests and memorial events. The government’s response has been to exert its influence on the university, drawing it under the control of paramilitary groups and even resorting to deadly violence. In recent years, students have been locked out of the campus, beaten and even killed. Just last year the Vice-Chancellor was dismissed from his role, with authorities citing baseless “national security” grounds. This latest incident demonstrates how far the subversion of the premier academic institution in the North has gone.

The wielding of violence and intimidation to silence those critical of the state, particularly from the Tamil community, is not a new tactic in Sri Lanka. It is something that successive regimes since independence have employed with deadly results. The current regime under a man accused of overseeing heinous atrocity crimes at the end of the war has predictably shown a willingness to be even more brazen. International actors must act to protect human rights defenders on the island and utilise mechanisms at their disposal to hold the state accountable and prevent further atrocities from occurring. Though Guruparan’s case has drawn widespread and much-needed condemnation, words will not be enough.

Tamil Guardian

Sri Lankan police have released a Tamil lawyer who was arrested as she attempted to enquire into the detention of Black Lives Matter protestors, as clashes broke out in Colombo yesterday.

Swasthika Arulingam was reportedly detained by Sri Lankan police, though it remains unclear as to the grounds on which she was held and if charges are to be pursued.

Clashes broke out in Colombo yesterday as Sri Lankan police tangled with protestors from the Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) who attempted to stage a demonstration outside the US Embassy in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

Sri Lankan police reportedly arrested up to 20 people at the protest, with Arulingam one of the detained. All have reportedly since been released.

Tamil Guardian

On June 9, officials from the Criminal Investigation Department raided Bastians� home in Colombo, the capital, and seized her laptop in connection to an investigation over the alleged abduction of a Swiss embassy staffer in the city in November, she wrote in a statement shared on Twitter.

Bastians, a contributor to the New York Times and former editor of the state-run Sunday Observer newspaper, wrote that the officers had a warrant for the laptop, and that they had twice previously tried to confiscate it without a warrant.

Authorities allege that the embassy staffer�s abduction was staged, and accuse Bastians of communicating with the staffer and being linked to the alleged abduction, according to news reports. Bastians left Sri Lanka in November, and the raid was conducted while her family members were living in her home, according to those reports.

�CPJ strongly objects to the seizure of journalist Dharisha Bastians� laptop and is concerned it could further endanger her sources,� said Aliya Iftikhar, CPJ�s senior Asia researcher. �Sri Lankan authorities should immediately end this intimidation campaign against Bastians, which is clearly retaliation for her critical reporting.�

On June 16, the Colombo Chief Magistrate ordered government analysts to examine whether anything on the laptop had been changed since it was seized, according to those news reports.

In her statement, Bastians said she was concerned about �potential efforts by interested parties to compromise the integrity� of the laptop. She also wrote that Criminal Investigation Department previously obtained her phone records without a warrant and leaked them.

Bastians has reported and written columns on politics, human rights, enforced disappearances, and accountability for journalists who were murdered in Sri Lanka.

In 2018, CPJ reported that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who at the time was in the opposition party and is now the country�s prime minister, publicly named Bastians after she contributed to a New York Times investigation into his failed 2015 presidential campaign.

The Criminal Investigation Department did not respond to CPJ�s emailed request for comment. Mohan Samaranayake, a spokesperson for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, did not respond to a request for comment via messaging app.

CPJ

Six persons including the main suspect who assaulted an Ada Derana journalist in Atulugama, Bandaragama have been placed under arrest, the police said.

The assault had taken place this morning (24) when the journalist in question had visited the Atulugama area for the coverage of Muslim devotees celebrating the end of the holy month of Ramadan (Eid-ul-Fitr) while adhering to social distancing guidlines.

The journalist in question, Bimal Shyaman, had initially spoken to and obtained a voice cut from the chairman of the mosque association in Atulugama, Najeed Hajjiar Mohamed Najeed.

He had then proceeded to obtain footage of one of the mosques in the area and as he was set to leave, a group of residents had blocked his vehicle and threatened him. They had also reportedly caused damages to his vehicle.

However, another group of residents had assisted the journalist to leave amidst the tense situation.

The Atulugama mosque association�s chairman also arrived at the location in order to help out the Ada Derana journalist.

Bandaragama Police had launched an investigation into the incident following a complaint lodged by the Ada Derana journalist and six arrests were made subsequently.

Adaredana

On 23 May 2020, a Sri Lankan NGO was harassed by a national media outlet that urged an investigation against it in Sri Lanka.

On 14 May 2020, an unidentified number of students was intimidated by the police while commemorating the final stages of Sri Lankan civil war in Jaffna.

Tamil Diplomat

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) yesterday called upon the Sri Lankan authorities to respect human rights in the conduct of their investigation of the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, including ensuring that investigations into the alleged involvement of Sri Lankan lawyer Hejaaz Hizbullah are conducted in accordance with due process and fair trial guarantees under international law. Specifically, the authorities must specify the charges against him, grant him full and immediate access to a lawyer, and investigate the circumstances of his arrest for potential rights violations, they said in a statement.

Sri Lankan lawyer Hejaaz Hizbullah was arrested by the Criminal Investigations Department of the Police (CID) on 14 April pursuant to the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and has since been kept in detention. No reasons were provided at the time of the arrest. During a media briefing, a Police spokesperson stated that he was arrested as a result of the evidence found against him during investigations into the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings. The ICJ understands that no remand or detention orders authorising his continued detention have been served, even after the lapse of 72 hours as required by Sections 7 and 9 of the PTA.

Moreover, Hizbullah was only granted limited access to legal counsel on 15 and 16 April, under the supervision of a CID official, who had insisted that the conversation be in Sinhala, in breach of attorney-client privilege. Legal access has been denied at least since 16 April. �No one questions the Government�s need and obligation to investigate the horrendous Easter Sunday attacks, but these investigations must be conducted in a way that is consistent with international law and the Sri Lankan Constitution,� said ICJ Asia-Pacific Director Frederick Rawski. �Not serving Hizbullah a remand order as required by law and denying him full and confidential access to legal counsel is unacceptable and in violation of international standards on the right to liberty.�

A Habeas Corpus petition was filed by Hizbullah�s father on 17 April, seeking his release from detention, and demanding that he be given access to his attorneys. According to the application, five persons posing as officials of the Ministry of Health entered his home and interrogated him after placing him in handcuffs. They demanded access to two of his case files, recorded a statement from him, and subsequently took him into custody at the Criminal Investigation Department.

�By allowing warrantless entry, search of premises and the arrest of persons, the Prevention of Terrorism Act violates basic due process guarantees under international law,� added Rawski. �This legal provision is one of many problematic provisions of the PTA. The ICJ reiterates it calls for the PTA to be repealed and replaced with a law that conforms with Sri Lanka�s international human rights obligations.�

According to Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, �anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of the reasons for his arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges against him.� Article 14 entitles anyone charged of a criminal offence �to have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his defence and to communicate with counsel of his own choosing�. Similar guarantees are enshrined under Article 13 of the Sri Lankan Constitution. The UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers provide that, �Governments shall further ensure that all persons arrested or detained, with or without criminal charge, shall have prompt access to a lawyer, and in any case not later than forty-eight hours from the time of arrest or detention.�

The ICJ has consistently called for the repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, which has been used to arbitrarily detain suspects for months and often years without charge or trial, facilitating torture and other abuse. The ICJ reiterated its call for the repeal and replacement of this vague and overbroad anti-terror law in line with international human rights standards and Sri Lanka�s international obligations.

Daily FT

On 2nd April, Ramzy Razeek wrote a post on his Facebook wall about the need for ideological jihad or ideological struggle (?????? ???????? / ?????? ?????)[5]. Jihad is a controversial and often misunderstood word. According to multiple scholars, �jihad� means �struggle�, though it�s often misunderstood to mean armed warfare or terrorism. In his post, Ramzy is specific about the kind of struggle he is talking about � �ideological� � with �pen and keyboard�, through �social and mainstream media�, �on behalf of the county and all its citizens� and �to help people understand the truth� in context of �hate propagated against Muslims�.

When we read some of Ramzy�s past Facebook posts, it becomes clear he has been a consistent advocate against racism and promoting communal harmony, equality and justice. On 1st April, he had criticized the cremation of a Muslim COVID19 victim at a time Health Ministry guidelines allowed burials[6], but referring to reports of subsequently amended government regulations[7], he called on Muslims to accept cremations if it�s proved through health science that burials are bad for health or if the government has made a reasonable decision not to allow burials for public good[8].

On 3rd April, a day after the Facebook post about �ideological struggle�, April, Ramzy announced self-censorship � that he will not make future posts related to politics or national problems in Sinhalese, as he doesn�t want to endanger his children�s life[9]. He explained that some of the responses to his above-mentioned post included death threats and calls for his arrest and that his eldest daughter had been traumatized and fearful after seeing these. That statement of self-censorship is the last visible post on his Facebook wall.

It is reported that the above-mentioned post on 2nd April, had led to his arrest and that he has been remanded till 22nd April[10]. His lawyer said that the Magistrate had asked the police to report on 22nd April whether there is actual grounds to arrest and remand him. According to the lawyer, the police had cited the ICCPR Act[11] and the Cyber Crimes Act. The ICCPR Act gives discretion for the police to arrest and detain a person and Magistrates don�t have discretion in providing bail. Last year, a writer arrested under the ICCPR Act was imprisoned for more than four (4) months until a High Court judge gave him bail[12].

We have not seen any post or comment by Ramzy that would amount to the propagation of war or advocating hatred leading to incitement to hostility, discrimination or violence which is prohibited by Article 3 (1) of the ICCPR Act[13]. When arresting Ramzy, it appears the police has not considered the detailed recommendations by the Human Rights Commission[14] of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) on balancing the ICCPR Act provisions on hate speech with constitutional guarantees for free expression, six-point threshold test and the three-pronged test of legality, proportionality and necessity from Sri Lanka�s fundamental rights jurisprudence.

Ironically, there are comments that are death threats against Ramzy on Facebook, which is still available at the time of writing[15] but we have not seen news of any arrests or police actions in relation to these.

Sri Lanka Brief

Women Nominees to be candidates of upcoming election: former Human rights commissioner Ambika Satkunarajah and women�s rights activist Nalini Ratnarajah were subjected to derogatory remarks and defamatory reporting by Tamil news website athirvunews. Ratnarajah was mainly targeted for her activism on reproductive rights and women�s rights.

INFORM

The director of Vavuniya-based Thinapuyal newspaper, Sakthivelpillai Prakash and his wife alongside another editor, were summoned by Sri Lanka�s Terrorism Investigation Department (TID) on Monday, following the paper�s coverage of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

The latest incident of journalist intimidation comes as the 43rd session of the Council is currently underway, where Sri Lanka has withdrawn co-sponsorship of a resolution on accountability and the UN human rights chief has urged member states to �explore all possible avenues� for justice.

Prakash told reporters that the newspaper was targeted over its coverage of events in Geneva, but expressed confusion over the summoning of his wife.

�This both surprised and amazed me,� he said. �My wife is in no way involved with Thinapuyal.�

Prakash added that another editor at Thinappuyal, S.Sasitharan had also been summoned by the TID to attend earlier today.

He went on to state that journalists for the newspaper had been repeatedly targeted by Sri Lankan security forces in the past, and said that �in this country, independent media is unable to write freely�.

The latest incident comes as the intimidation and harassment of journalists has ramped up since the election of Gotabaya Rajapaksa as president in November last year.

TamilGuardian

On 27th of February university student activists started a protest in front of the Ministry of Higher Education building in Ward place, Colombo. The students launched a continuous protest against the long-time closure of the University of Ruhuna. Colombo court had issued a court order to remove the protest hut made by the students, and to prevent students from protesting either on the road or on the pavement of the road. They were also prevented them from entering the government office premises. This literally meant according to the order they could no longer continue the protest. The students were told that they will be arrested and charged for contempt of court unless they obeyed. The order was issued against Inter University Student Federation (IUSF) convener Rathkarawwe Jinarathana Thero, Convener of General Students Association of Ruhuna University Weranga Pushpika, Convener of General Students Association of Rajarata University Wasantha Mudalige, Co-conveners of General Students Association of Peradeniya University Mangala Maddumage, and Gihan Weerasekara and other protesters who participated in the protest with them.

INFORM

Police have allegedly threatened peaceful protestors that they will be arrested unless they move into the designated agitation site. The protestors were mainly women who have taken microfinance loans and caught in a debt trap and human rights activists. Microfinance loans have pushed rural women into debt traps, with high interest rates charged. The protestors marched from Pettah railway station towards the Presidential Secretariat.

INFORM

Police assaulted protesters, who were former employees of National Housing Authority, and who had blocked the Galle Road near to Presidential Secretariat. As a result of the incident, three female protesters were hospitalized.

INFORM

Rathugala indigenous Vedda community leader was physically attacked after criticizing sand mining in the local area allegedly by the people engaged in sand mining.

INFORM

Prasad Purnimal Jayamanne, a journalist based in Wennappuwa in Chilaw was assaulted by group linked to few politicians after he exposed unauthorized filling of a paddy field in Wennappuwa. Mr. Jayamannehas told Free Media Movement that he was assaulted by a group including the son of a former Wayamba Provincial Council member who had taken over the land filling from another former Wayamba Provincial Council member who claims to own the paddy field.

INFORM

A prominent Tamil disappearances activist and her daughter were attacked and hospitalised in Batticaloa on Sunday evening.

Amala Nayagi, the vice-president of the North East Families of the Disappeared Association and the president of the Batticaloa District Association, and her daughter were deliberately hit and knocked off their motorcycle by an oncoming motorcycle with three men.

The injured Amala Nayagi and her daughter were admitted to Karadiyanaru hospital in Batticaloa. They had been travelling to Batticaloa to attend a funeral when the attack took place.

While the attackers drove off after hitting the two, local youths attempted to chase and apprehend the three men. Although two escaped, one was caught and arrested by Karadiyanaru police.

Amala Nayagi has faced many threats over the years that she has been at the forefront of campaigning with families of the disappeared in Batticaloa. The activist said she was certain today’s attack was intended to intimidate her.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that the arrested attacker was linked to a paramilitary group.

Tamil Guardian

We, the undersigned individuals strong condemn the recent threats, harassment and unfair treatment against human rights defender, Kumaravadivel Guruparan, by the Sri Lankan military and University Authorities. Guruparan, is a prominent human rights lawyer and academic based in Jaffna, in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. He is the founder of the Adayalam Center for Policy Research, and is a Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Law, at the University of Jaffna. He is also a Co-Spokesperson of the Tamil Civil Society Forum (TCSF). On 09 November, 2019, Guruparan was informed by the Jaffna University Council, that he had been barred from private legal practice as per a decision of the University Grants Commission (UGC). We condemn this decision of the UGC, which was instigated by the military, and is aimed at silencing and suppressing Guruparan’s human rights work and legal advocacy.

Over the past decade or more, Guruparan has been a strong voice for human rights and accountability in Sri Lanka. Despite living and working in a highly militarized and hostile context, he has been consistently vocal against the failure of successive Governments to hold those responsible, especially the military, accountable for crimes against civilians.

The restrictions and harassment meted out against Guruparan are direct reprisals against his human rights work. We are deeply concerned at the conduct of the UGC and the University of Jaffna (UoJ), in their treatment of a senior faculty member. Both the UGC and the UoJ are civilian institutions, responsible at least in part, for moulding and guiding generations of university students in this country. In this instance, they have shown a crippling inability to withstand pressure from the military, a trend which threatens dangerous consequences. On 21August, 2019, the military wrote to the UGC questioning the basis on which Guruparan was permitted to practice law in court. Despite there being clear provisions under the University Establishment code under which a faculty member may be permitted to engage in private practice, and the military having no standing whatsoever to question or interfere in internal university matters, the UGC took the surprising decision on 05 September, that Guruparan should no longer be permitted to practice law. The decision of the UGC was communicated to the University of Jaffna which then in turn on 09 November 2019 has decided to ask Guruparan to act according to the UGC directives.

There has been a pattern of threats, intimidation and harassment against human rights defenders, especially those working in the North and East, in the lead up to the November election. Lawyers and activists working on military accountability have been particularly targeted. The recent threats and restrictions against Guruparan are believed to be linked to his representation of victims in the Navatkuli Habeas Corpus case, which relates to the enforced disappearance of 24 boys from military custody in 1996. Following the hearing of the case on 01 August 2019, Guruparan and other lawyers were photographed by unidentified men within the court premises. On 07 August, three officers from the Terrorism Investigation Department (TID) visited the Adayalam Center office and demanded staff details and information about their work. Other lawyers working on the case have also faced similar harassment and intimidation.

We reiterate that the restrictions and harassment against Guruparan are a reprisal against his human rights work. The restrictions on his legal practice is a clear attempt to subvert justice by preventing his cases from being litigated successfully in court. We stand in solidarity with Guruparan and other lawyers, journalists, and human rights defenders in the North and East, who face an increasingly tense and restrictive environment.

We also call upon the Judicial Service Commission to take note of the serious implications of such actions by the military, whose members have been named as respondents in the case that Guruparan is representing. Attempts to influence as to who appears on the other side through intimidation and undue influence is a very serious issue affecting the fundamental right to equality before the law and recourse to justice.The Hon. Attorney General who appears for the military must also appropriately advice his clients to desist from such reprehensible behaviour.

In conclusion, we condemn the UGC for aiding the military call on them to rescind the order, and clarify the rights of university legal academics staff to engage in practice.

Sri Lanka Brief

Former Tamil political activist, Mr Kaviraj Shanmuganathan, was denied entry into Sri Lanka upon arrival at Bandaranaike International Airport on Monday.

Upon enquiry, he was told he was denied entry as he was listed as someone who worked against the sovereignty and interests of the country.

He was then told that he could voluntarily return a country of his choice or go back to the UK where he could make an application to visit with the permission of Sri Lanka’s Defence Ministry. He would need to contact Sri Lanka’s High Commission in London.

Tamilpolity reports that Shanmuganathan has chosen to go to Chennai where he will consider the options available to him. His family, however, have been granted entry into Sri Lanka.

Shanmuganathan was a leader of the protests in London between April to May 2009 which demanded a ceasefire in Sri Lanka and he also lobbied for an international independent investigation into the mass atrocities committed in the last stages of the war.

Shanmuganathan quit politics and engaged in humanitarian activities to support war victims in Tamil areas.

Tamil Guardian

Families of the disappeared decried the surveillance and intimidation they endure at the hands of Sri Lankan security and intelligence forces, while Sri Lankan intelligence officers came out in force to photograph and carry out surveillance of a mass rally in Mullaitivu on Tuesday.

“We the mothers participating in the struggle are also panicked that we may also go missing after realizing past incidents. As a proof to our dangerous situation, the military interference and surveillance have now increased,” the families said in a letter to the United Nations.

“The military intelligence personnel are very often interrogating our participant mothers while following us secretly and monitoring our daily activities. They visit our homes in odd times and carry out interrogation. They wantonly attack our District leaders and vanish. No action by the police even though we make entries at the respective police stations. Intimidation continues.”

Leaders of the protests, many of whom are vulnerable women, have been routinely attacked and threatened by suspected intelligence personnel since the roadside protests started and gained momentum almost three years ago.

Tamil Guardian

Sri Lankan police threatened residents of a Mannar village including the local priest when they protested against Sinhalese people illegally extracting sand from the village.

Residents of Thottaveli have for several years complained of illegal sand mining causing environmental damage to the area and leaving villages prone to flooding and soil erosion.

While local authorities including the divisional and district councils have repeatedly denied giving permission for sand extraction the problem has persisted due to the perpetrators producing ambiguous permits for other purposes, obtained from southern politicians.

In this latest incident on Wednesday, villagers, led by parish priest Father Alexander Benno Silva, confronted the sand miners. Following a verbal exchange, the miners initially agreed to refrain from extracting the sand.

However, a short while later, the extraction vehicles returned, this time with a police escort.

The villagers once again took to the streets and carried out a road-block to prevent the sand mining from taking place.

During a confrontation with police, one officer pushed Father Benno to prevent him from getting on his motorcycle, and continued to verbally threaten him and other residents while filming the women that were protesting.

As tensions were heightening, senior priests from the Mannar diocese and the head of the Mannar police station went to the village and attempted to defuse the situation.

The offending police officer was made to apologise to Father Benno, although villagers continued to criticise the police for protecting the sand miners.

The problem of sand mining continues to grow across the North-East, causing worsening relations between police and communities.

Tamil groups say the police use the issue as a guise to target and surveillance communities, accusing police departments of taking bribes to protect actual perpetrators.

In 2017, an unarmed Tamil man was shot dead by police in Vadamarachchi during a purported confrontation about sand mining.

Tamil Guardian

Sri Lanka Police were compelled to use water cannons and tear gas to disperse a protest in Colombo staged by a group of unemployed graduates.

The unemployed graduates marched from the Fort railway station in Colombo to the Presidential Secretariat citing injustice was caused when graduates were recruited to the government sector.

Ven. Thenne Gnananada Thero requested the police to meet the prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe regarding their demands.

However, police denied their request citing the emergency state prevailing in the country.

Several students were emotional following the discharge of water cannons and tear gas stating that all they demand is employment as they underwent numerous hardships to graduate.

Ven. Thenne Gnananada Thero, Convener of Joint Unemployed Graduates Association explained that the government had voluntarily removed the names of the individuals who suffer from visually and auditory impaired from the recruitment lists along with graduates who are over 35 years of age.

The protestors attempted to commence a fast this evening opposite the Fort Railway Station, however, the attempt was foiled.

Meanwhile, during a media briefing held at the Temple Trees today, UNP MP Chandima Gamage expressed that a program to provide employment to graduates is already in effect.

MP Chandima Gamage noted that despite criticism claiming that it is a political agenda, the prime minister has already decided to appoint 20,000 graduates as Development Officers.

He confidently stated that none of the job opportunities provided by the Yahapalanaya government are political ploys and the government has already decided to recruit a total of 16,800 graduates to the program.

He finally added that these Development Officers will be promoted to the Project Officers following their training program.

News First

The Free Media Movement strongly condemns the attack on journalist Prasad Purnamal Jayamanne and the obstruction in carrying out his professional media activities.

According to the reports received, Prasad Purnamal Jayamanne who was photographing a protest by villagers against a tipper transporting sand in the Mukkuthoduwawa area in Madurankuliya, has been attacked by a person inside the tipper truck.

It is reported that Prasad Purnamal Jayamanne’s camera equipment has also been damaged as a result of the attack.

This particular incident, is an addition to a series of incidents that have been reported pertaining to obstructions faced by journalists in carrying out their professional duties and it appears to have become an element of the anti-social behaviour of certain sections amongst the Sri Lankan society.

The development of such a trend is extremely detrimental to the existence of a democratic society.

The Free Media Movement does not approve in any form the prevention or obstruction of journalists from reporting information correctly for citizens to make informed decisions.

The Free Media Movement strongly urges the authorities to deliver justice by bringing those who disrupt the professional activities of journalists before the law, and to strengthen the required landscape in the country to maintain a free media culture. and conductive environment.

FMM Sri Lanka

A senior Sinhala journalist was interrogated by Sri Lanka’s Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) for around six hours for allegedly threatening national security after reporting on the arrest of Kilinochchi’s Judicial Medical Officer (JMO).

Kilinochchi JMO and senior Tamil doctor Dr S Sivaruban was arrested by TID on August 18 for alleged links to terrorist activities.

Sinhala journalist Thinasena Rathgama was summoned to the TID in Colombo after publishing reports that the terrorism police were alleging Dr Sivaruban was involved in an assassination plot against former Defence Secretary and presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa and having links with the LTTE.

Rathgama said he had been accused of threatening national security by publishing the reports.

Dr Sivaruban, who remains in detention, was involved in several high profile cases as JMO, including providing medical reports linking the Sri Lankan army with the so called 'grease devil' attacks of 2011. He was also a key medical witness in the case of the rape and murder of a child by a member of the EPDP paramilitary group.

Tamil Guardian

Freedom Media Movement vehemently condemns the threat to journalist K. Prasanna by Palani Digambaram, Minister of Minister of Hill Country New Villages, Infrastructure and Community Development, in connection to an article titled ‘Does the Indian Housing Scheme provide fund the Minister’s food?’ written by journalist K. Prasanna using Right to Information Act.

This article by journalist K. Prasanna highlighting the irregularities that had taken place in the implementation of the Housing Scheme under the Ministry of Hill Country New Villages, Infrastructure and Community Development, was published in the ‘Thinakkural’ Tamil Newspaper on 4.08.2019. The journalist had written this article using the RTI. Prasanna told us that Minister Digambaram and the Minister’s Coordinating Secretary contacted and threatened him following the publication of the said article. Journalist K. Prasanna has lodged a complaint with the RTI Commission. Free Media Movement views this as an act of intimidation on the freedom of the press and a threat to the Right to Information Act, thus it calls upon all parties to cooperate with journalists in their work without hindrance.

Sri Lanka Brief

Aluthgama Police were yet to arrest the suspects identified in connection with the assault of Daily Mirror /Lankadeepa Aluthgama Correspondent Thusitha Kumara de Silva and his wife on Friday night, over an alleged exposure of artificial toddy mafia in the Kalutara District.

A large number of Kalutara District journalists representing mainstream print and electronic media organisations staged a silent demonstration yesterday afternoon demanding Aluthgama Police to bring the culprits of this attack to book without delay.

Thusitha Kumara and his wife who had been rushed to Aluthgama Base Hospital in a traumatic condition with assaults to their heads and body with clubs on Friday night had later been transferred to Kalutara General Hospital in Nagoda on Saturday. The journo and his wife who were away from home on a personal matter had rushed back hearing that an armed gang had stormed their house and was attacking it around 7.00 p.m. Friday (06). Their son was the only occupant at home during the incident. When the couple reached the scene about 10 to 15 men armed with clubs had started attacking them with threatening “you were the one who wrote about the artificial toddy industry in newspapers and exposed us”.
The gang had soon left the scene leaving the wounded couple behind who were rushed to the hospital by the neighbours.
Thusitha Kumara had lodged a complaint with the Aluthgama Police regarding the assault and had given details of five of the gang as identified to be residents of the same area. His mobile phone and cash amounting to Rs.4,800 had also been missing in the attack.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror, National Organiser of Independent Media Foundation of Kalutara Suresh Wijeyarangana said the district journalists gathered in solidarity to demand justice to Thusitha Kumara and his wife.

He said Thusitha was renowned for his brave reporting against illegal artificial toddy manufacturers in the area, where several large scale detections were made by the Police Special Task Force (STF) personnel a few months back and seized 40,000 litres of chemical toddy in Aluthgama.

The demonstration was held to urge the law enforcement authorities to secure the lives of journalists who fight against this illegal and artificial toddy industry in the area carried out by the goons of top politicians and some leading underworld figures of Kosgama area.

Meanwhile, the Aluthgama Police had searched the houses of the five identified suspects who had reportedly fled the area.

A special police protection has been given to journo Thusitha Kumara and his wife at the hospital as well as to their smashed house in Hettimulla. JVP Parliamentarian Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa also took part in the demonstration.

Daily Mirror

Unidentified assailants attacked Lasantha Wijeratna, a freelance journalist and anti- corruption activist, on November 14. The International Federation of Journalist (IFJ) and its affiliate Free Media Movement (FMM) raise concerns about the attack which took place in the lead-up to the country’s presidential election.

Wijeratna was attacked by three men with firearms in his home at around 2.30am on November 14. Wijeratna sustained injuries from the attack including severe lacerations to his hand and was admitted to the intensive care unit in Karapitiya Hospital.

News 1stspokesperson SSP Ruwan Gunasekara alleges it was a retaliatory attack to Wijeratna for his work on alleged acts of corruption believed to have been committed by Gotabaya Rajapaksa during his tenure as the former Secretary of Defense. Gotabaya Rajapaksa was declared the new president of Sri Lanka after the weekend’s election.

The Free Media Movement said it strongly urge “all parties concerned to expedite investigations into this incident, which has challenged the democratic space in this country.”

IFJ

Mayuri Inoka, the wife of a disappeared husband, Madushka Haris De Silva, was herself abducted on 1 November 2014. According to Mayuri, her abductors threatened her not to engage in any activities calling for the recovery of her husband. Mayuri's husband disappeared in September 2013, and remains missing. Issuing a statement the Asian Human Rights Commission says; On 27 October 2014, Mayuri spoke at a public gathering in front of the "Monument for the Disappeared" at Raddoluwa, Seeduwa, during the annual commemoration ceremony for disappeared persons. The persons who abducted Mayuri identified themselves by stating, "we are from the police". They followed her and boarded the three-wheeler in which she traveled to the city centre in Anuradhapura, where she wanted to purchase milk powder for her 11-month-old twin babies. According to Mayuri's statement, broadcast in BBC's Sinhala Service, a well-built man, pointing a gun at her face boarded her three-wheeler, tied her hands behind her back, blindfolded her, and took her in a three-wheeler. Later, she was shoved into a van. She was driven around for about an hour and half in this van, a period when she was continually abused and threatened by her abductors, who asked her "not to engage in the campaign and protests to find her husband". She has recalled that, several times, one of the abductors aimed a pistol at her neck and threatened to shoot her. Mayuri says she was terrified and feared for her life. She was repeatedly told that "she will also be taken to where her husband is", if she continued to search for him, which, in fact, is nothing other than an assassination threat. Mayuri was finally thrown out of the van, onto the roadside near Nochchiyagama. Talking to BBC Sinhala Service following her ordeal, Mayuri says that when she was thrown out by the side of the road, with her hands still tied behind her back, and yelling for help, no person came to her assistance. Later, after sometime, several police officers in civilian clothes arrived and abused her in foul language, threatened her, and treated her as if she were a prostitute. Every month Mayuri holds a fast (hunger strike), in front of the Anuradhapura Police Station, demanding information about the whereabouts of her husband. The case regarding the disappearance of her husband is fixed for tomorrow, 4 November 2014, at the Anuradhapura Magistrate's Court. She has named Senior Police Superintendent Mahesh Senarathna and a group of other police officers as those who are involved in the abduction of her husband. She has complained to the police and to the courts about this disappearance and about whom she thinks is responsible for the disappearance. On a previous occasion, two persons have visited her house and threatened her to keep silent or face the consequences, and threatened her with her own death and that of her children. It is obvious that a group of police officers, afraid of being discovered for involvement and links to the disappearance of Madushka Haris De Silva, are pursuing her in order to intimidate her and to silence her. Given previous experiences in similar incidents, it will not be a surprise if Mayuri will be assassinated. The Asian Human Rights Commission calls on the Inspector General of Police and all government authorities to immediately inquire into Mayuri Inoka's abduction and the constant threats that have been levelled at her and her children by persons identifying themselves as "police officers". Meanwhile the AHRC also calls upon the Inspector General of Police to provide special protection to Mayuri Inoka and her children. The AHRC particularly calls upon the women's movements in Sri Lanka to come to Mayuri Inoka's assistance and to prevent her possible assassination. The AHRC also calls upon all human rights organizations to do everything they can, to provide for her protection. The AHRC will also take steps to bring this matter to the attention of the United Nations Human Rights agencies and the diplomatic community in Sri Lanka.

Colombo Telegraph

Sri Lanka's anti-terrorism police on Saturday 25th October arrested a 58-year old Tamil man in Kilinochchi for allegedly distributing forms meant to be circulated among the witnesses of the ongoing war crime probe by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Sri Lankan police has claimed that the Terrorists Investigation Department (TID) personnel on Saturday "has arrested Chinniah Krishnarajah at Mulankavil in Kilinochchi while he was distributing UNHRC witness forms". The police has also claimed to have recovered from Krishnarajah a set of UNHRC witness forms and other materials that were to be submitted to the UNHRC. According to sources, he has now been brought to the TID headquarters in Colombo for further investigation and is likely to be sent to the notorious Boosa detention camp in the South under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism (PTA) laws . Several hundreds of Tamil men and women have been held indefinitely in Sri Lanka's prisons without any charges under the provisions of PTA. President Mahinda Rajapaksa has not only refused to cooperate with the OHCHR inquiry, but has threatened to take action against those cooperating with the investigation, resulting in fear amongst the war-hit Tamil people. Leading human rights activists, however, have urged the survivors of the bloody war "to quietly and discretely have their evidence sent across" before it expires at the end of this month. The High Commissioner for Human Rights who presented an oral update during the September session of the Human Rights Council on the progress of the probe, will present the final report to the council's March 2015 session.

Sri Lanka Brief

Sri Lankan military intelligence operatives have intensified attacks on independent Tamil journalists in Vanni in recent days. A 33-year-old reporter from Paranthan, Sinnarasa Siventhiran, who files news stories at Uthayan's branch office at Karadippoakku junction had a narrow escape from a squad that intended to kill him by throwing him in front of a vehicle on A9 Road Sunday 21st September 2014. Two masked men stopped Mr Siventhiran, who was returning home in his bicycle on A9 road after filing stories at the office of the Tamil daily Uthayan. He is a teacher and files stories in the evening as an independent journalist. He cycles to the branch office of the Tamil daily between 8:00 and 8:30 p.m. to write his stories, as he doesn't have computer or Internet facilities at home. First, the two men who claimed they were from Criminal Investigation Division interrogated him for 10 minutes. When Mr Siventhiran said he could go to the police station if there is anything he needed to clarify, the men claimed they were from a higher authority than the police and said they wanted to finish him off to give a lesson. The attackers claimed that there was no use in disciplining certain Tamil journalist, according to Mr Siventhiran. The incident took place at a least-populated locality situated between Paranthan and Karadippoakku. After attacking the journalist, the masked men wanted to throw him in front a speeding bus trying to kill him and make it look like an accident. However, the attempt failed as the driver of the approaching vehicle managed to turn his vehicle away from the person lying on the road. Mr Siventhiran managed to run towards a restaurant and the public gathered to confront the masked men who were chasing him. Siventhiran, in his complaint to the police on Sunday said he could identify one of the masked men who had pulled off his mask before pushing the journalist in front of the vehicle on A9 road.

[Tamil Net](TamilNet - http://tamilnet.com/art.html)?catid=13&artid=37389)

Protected by the police, around 30 supporters of ruling party held a counter demonstration opposite the #FreeJeyakumary campaign held in front of Fort Railway station on 29th Sep 2014. The mob displayed a banner showing leading civil society activists in Sri Lanka ridiculing them. The pro government protestors displayed placards accusing leading HRDs of anti-country treacherous acts. There were more police offficers and intelligence agents than the demonstrators at the protest venue, according to reports from Colombo.

Sri Lanka Brief

The Lawyers Collective has strongly condemned death threats to two of its leading members, Attorneys-at-Law, Namal Rajapakshe and Manjula Pathiraja. In a statement it said Rajapakshe and Pathiraja have been leading human rights activists and lawyers with long experience in public interest litigation. They appeared in a series of sensitive cases challenging arbitrary actions of all organs of the Government, including the Defence Authorities. Around 6:20 p.m. on 13 September 2014, two unidentified men with full face covered helmet and jackets, had rushed to the legal office of Rajapakshe, situated near the Thorana junction, Kelaniya, in the Colombo district. One of them had been armed, and he had taken Rajapakshe to a corner, and threatened that he and Manjula Pathiraja would be killed, if they appear in "unnecessary cases'. They particularly mentioned about several cases where Rajapakshe and Pathiraja had appeared against a controversial Buddhist monk. The two individuals had then fled on an unidentified motorcycle. Rajapakshe had made a complaint at the Peliyagoda Police Station bearing number CIB/III - 230/123. On 4 August 2014, Attorneys Rajapakshe, Pathiraja and Lakshan Dias were intimidated by a group of thugs inside the Maradana Police station, in front of the Head Quarters Inspector. The three of them were making representations on behalf of their clients, on the breaking up of a peaceful private meeting and criminal trespass. Rajapakshe had made a complaint regarding this incident on 5 August 2014. No actions have been taken by the Police in respect of this intimidation. Rajapakshe, Pathiraja and Dias have frequently appeared for victims of human rights violations across the country, irrespective of ethnic and religious backgrounds, often pro bono. They have made themselves available for emergencies at all times and days. While upholding the highest traditions of the legal profession, all three of them have been well respected and committed human rights defenders who have been taking forthright and courageous positions on issues of democracy, rule of law and human rights in Sri Lanka. Lawyers Collectice urges the Inspector General of Police to take immediate steps to ensure the protection of all three of them and to take all possible steps to hold accountable, all those responsible for these threats and intimidation.

Daily FT

An unknown group calling themselves " Patriotic Force that defends the country"[rata rakagathdeshapremeebalakaya] directed death threats to the journalist participants, organisers and their families at an event which was held on 15th October in Colombo. This event was organized to award certificates of a journalism training programme conducted by the Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) section. Senior journalist and coordinator of the event Mr.Jayasiri Jayasekara and journalists Mr. Janoor Kichilan and Mr. Amadoru Amarajeewa are among those who received death threats. Mr.Shan Wijethunga, the organiser and Ravaya consultant editor Mr. Victor Ivan, resource persons of the event too had received threatening SMS messages. The Free Media Movement (FMM) asserts that this so-called "'Patriotic Force'' is another puppet group which is protected by the intelligence agencies. This conclusion has been reinforced by the statement given by journalist Mr. Amadoru Amarajeewa stating that the mobile phones that originated these threatening telephone calls belonged to some intelligence officers.

International Federation of Journalists-IFJ

G Thevaraja, a human rights defender from Vavuniya, was assaulted by an unidentified gang on October 8th while Sri Lanka's human rights record was being reviewed at the UN Human Rights Committee. Thevaraja was attacked hours after he concluded a discussion with members of the Vavuniya citizens committee on a protest they were planning to stage on Friday 10th October urging the authorities to free detained human rights defender Balendran Jayakumari. He was attacked by four people and was heavily assaulted by iron rods. According to reports, the attackers threatened to kill him if he went on to stage the protest. Thevaraja has been admitted to hospital to receive further treatments.

Colombo Telegraph

The National Peace Council has expressed deep concern over the increasing and continuous surveillance of civil society activities by the Rajapaksa-regime using military and law enforcement authorities in the post-war period. In a media statement issued yesterday, the NPC has noted the escalating surveillance operations - initially widely prevalent in the North and East but now spread to the entire country - includes every aspect of civilian life including weddings, puberty ceremonies, memorial services in addition to seminars and workshops organised by civil society organisations in the North. Underpinning their accusations and concerns, the NPC has pointed out that during the past month, its activities implemented under the inter-religious reconciliation programme have been subjected to surveillance by security forces on three occasions. Among the three incidents where the NPC activities were disturbed by military and police surveillance were: 1) An inter-religious dialog in Kandy - the event had been held inside a private hall of a reputed civil society organization. Despite informing the relevant authorities of the event, intelligence personnel had entered the hall in civvies and had recorded the discussion. 2) An event in Galle -Despite inviting the local Police to attend the event,another Police team had arrived at the premises to investigate the programme 3) A youth Amity camp in Addalaichenai in the East - Although the local police and local government authorities had been informed of the event, uniformed military personnel with weapons had arrived and questioned the organisers of the programme on three separate occasions over a two day period. The NPC has pointed out that two of the incidents occurring outside the former war zones of the North and East indicates surveillance is now being carried out in the entire country. In its statement, the NPC has also pointed out that this type of activity has resulted in the polarization of social relationships and a perpetuation of such conditions of insecurity will contribute to the creation of a lasting social mistrust between communities and jeopardize reconciliation. It has also stressed on the fact that such spying on civilian activities will also lead to the emergence of forces that lack faith in peaceful methods to rectify their grievances as happened in the 70s. "The government needs to recognize that the surveillance of civil society activities by members of security forces strikes fear and resentment in the minds of the people - particularly those of the ethnic and religious minorities that would in turn lead to self-censorship and reluctance to voice their grievances," the statement notes adding if not, the concerns will remain stifled and would continue to fester within the hearts of the people who feel victimized and deprived of justice. Writing furthermore, the NPC has pointed out the breakdown of affection towards the government as a result of the public being intimidated due to spying and surveillance, will turn the reconciliation process harder to achieve. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Amid allegations of NGO attempts to collect evidence to be sent to Geneva, the government has decided to consider a proper regulatory framework to monitor their accountability, External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris said today. [More...] He said the Government would take a serious view on this matter, though there was no intention of taking punitive action against the NGOs that had attempted to collect evidence to be submitted to the UN investigative panel. The minister said a regulatory system would be put in place to monitor the activities of the NGOs. "It is necessary to look at the quantum of money they receive and how it is used," he said at the Fourth Defence Seminar, which commenced today at the Galadari Hotel, Colombo, organised by the Sri Lanka Army and added that such a regulatory framework existed in South Asian countries "A foreign minister of an Asian country told me that there was an avalanche of foreign funds was received by NGOs when elections are around the corner in his country. Elections are meant for people of a particular country to decide their future. In certain cases, NGOs mention their purpose vaguely. Therefore, it is a matter that warrants consideration. It has been flagged for consideration now," the minister said. However, he said no firm decision had yet been taken on this matter so far. "Our good Samaritans or do-gooders do not live up to our expectations and they simply forget that ours is a tradition-rich society. You can now see how Sri Lankans feel the sense of belongingness as the national anthem rends the air. We will therefore be alert to elements who are intent on doing harm to us with foreign funds, some of which are spent for the sake of so called "capacity-building', etc. Explaining the series of positive and pragmatic measures that have been taken by the government after putting in place local mechanisms with the implementation of social and economic equity projects, enhancing credibility and the trust, being reposed in a society that has been affected continuously for near 30 years was as a result of bloodshed and violence, caused by the LTTE. "It is a matter of profound regret that we look at some foreign powers who are targeting Sri Lanka without learning or seeing what we are today and our involvement and the trajectory for the future, to couple with our social and economic growth. Our critics conveniently say that physical development, alone is not adequate. But they always fail to see reconciliatory moves, set in motion in war-affected areas in correct perspectives," Prof Peiris said. "HE the President took the bold decision with political courage to have elections in the Northern Province after absence of 28 years. That gave the people the chance to use their franchise as they prefer, and now the Northern Provincial Council, like other provincial councils elsewhere, has sufficient authority to deliver to their people. Isn't it a home-spun and home grown process? Those rudiments denigrate the public opinion and their cherished values and traditions," Prof Peiris claimed. "It is the constructing approach that is wanted, instead, what is forthcoming is the disincentive to engage in earnest in domestic process, by application of devolved power. All what they talk is 13th amendment. Other than Police powers, everything has already been devolved and such devolution has to go on," Prof Peiris commented, saying that it is the people who would identify their needs and not the powers that dedicate terms to us." People believe that the hard-won victory in the country should be maintained and should not be allowed to be torpedoed by organizations with vested interests, he added.

Colombo Telegraph | Daily Mirror Sri Lanka

Seven journalists attached to Tamil newspapers in the Northern province had been detained last night and questioned for over six hours by the law enforcement authorities sabotaging a workshop they were planning to attend in Colombo today, under charges of possessing marijuana. The journalists had been en-route to Colombo to participate in a workshop last night. Tamil politician Gajendra Ponnambalam who has been tweeting on the incident claims the van had been tailed by the military since the group left Jaffna. According to his tweets the vehicle had been initially stopped at Mankulam and searched by the Army. Thereafter the second stop had been made at the Omanthai checkpoint where three Army personnel had placed in the front seat of the van, which had been searched thereafter. During the search, a packet of marijuana had been recovered from the van. Ponnambalam's tweets state that at least three journalists had witnessed the bag of cannabis being placed in the front seat of the van by the Army personnel. The group had thereafter been taken to the Omanthai Police where they were questioned for over six hours. The journalists also state that although they attempted to lodge a complaint concerning their suspicions over the planting of evidence, the Omanthai Police did not accept it. Military Spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya commenting on the incident claims the checking was carried out after the officials at the Omanthai checkpoint received a tip on a possible transportation of heroin last night. "About ten minutes later, this vehicle in question had approached the checkpoint and it had been stopped to be checked during which, a packet of marijuana had been recovered. The driver and the van has been detained but the other seven passengers have been released. It is unfortunate that they had to be journalists," he said speaking at a media conference today. He also rejected allegations of an Army official stationed at the check point planting the evidence and said it could not have happened since it was two Police officials who discovered the marijuana packet from the van. Meanwhile, during a media conference organized by the Free Media Movement (FMM) today to raise objections over the harassment of the seven journalists, it was revealed that its Convener Sunil Jayasekara has been receiving death threats for holding the event. "I received a call from an unknown number, which I could not dial back - and the individual on the other end said he will not let me live if I hold this press conference today," he said adding that democracy and civil rights in Sri Lanka have been severely threatened presently and accused the Rajapaksa regime of attempting to turn journalists into puppets under their control.

Colombo Telegraph

Against the backdrop of some organisations defying the regulations governing NGO activities, the government has decided to enact a law, before the end of this year, making it mandatory for all of them to register with the National Secretariat on NGOs. NGO activities are currently governed by the provisions of the Voluntary Social Service Organizations[Registration and Supervision] Act Number 31 of 1980 and Voluntary Social Service Organizations[Registration and Supervision][Amendment] Act Number 8 of 1998. As required by the relevant acts, the NGOs are required register themselves with the National Secretariat on NGOs which functions under the Ministry of Defence. There are 1421 NGOs registered with this secretariat. Recently the secretariat issued instructions to NGOs to refrain from conducting press conferences and workshops for journalists unless they were mentioned in their annual action plans and approved by the secretariat. However, some organisations such as Transparency International and the Centre for Policy Alternatives, openly defied the instructions by the NGO Secretariat. Against this backdrop, Saman Dissanayake, the director of the NGO Secretariat, said the proposed law would be introduced in the form of an amendment to the existing Act and enacted before the end of this year. Then, he said, all these organisations would be required to register with the NGO Secretariat. "Otherwise, there will be legal restrictions on their activities. They will face restrictions in getting foreign funding," he said. Currently, though they operate as NGOs, some have been registered as nonprofit organisations under the Companies Act. Mr.Dissanayake said the new bill had almost been drafted. "The Legal Draftsman is giving it final the touches now," he said.

Daily Mirror Sri Lanka

The National Secretariat for Non-Governmental Organization (NGOs), a body functioning under the Defence Ministry, has banned NGOs from holding news conferences, workshops and training of journalists and the issuance of media releases. The decision was taken in the aftermath of the cancellation of workshops for Journalists organised by Transparency International recently. It drew widespread condemnation from various bodies and the opposition. The NGO Secretariat, in a letter dated July 1 has requested all NGOs in the country to refrain from indulging in such activities. Its Director D.M.S. Dissanayake in a letter said such activities carried out by the NGOs were beyond their mandate. "It has been revealed that certain NGOs conduct news conferences, hold workshops, train journalists, and issue news releases, which is beyond their mandate. We reiterate that all NGOs should desist from such unauthorised activities with immediate effect," he said in his letter. When asked for a comment on the decision, Mr. Dissanayake told Daily Mirror NGOs had only been asked not to exceed their mandate through this letter. He said his office examined all aspects such as the trustee of the NGO concerned, its funding sources, vision and mission, programme of work and the officials, before registering it. He said intelligence reports were obtained about the officials when the NGOs applied for registration. "We register the NGOs after all these aspects are cleared. NGOs are also required to submit their annual action plans to us for approval. We also get confirmation letters of their foreign funding agencies as well. However, we have received numerous complaints that some NGOs act in contravention of their mandate. In this letter, we have only asked 1,416 NGOs registered with us to stick to their mandate," Mr. Dissanayake said.

Daily Mirror Sri Lanka | Colombo Telegraph

The Sri Lankan government's decision to label 16 overseas Tamil organizations as financers of terrorism is so broad that it appears aimed at restricting peaceful activism by the country's Tamil minority, Human Rights Watch said on Monday. The government should provide evidence of the unlawful activity of specific groups and individuals or remove them from the list. On April 4, 2014, External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris made public an order signed on March 20, on the advice of the defense secretary, freezing the assets and financial resources of entities ranging from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which was militarily defeated in 2009, to nonviolent Tamil organizations around the world. Chief Military spokesman Brig. Ruwan Wanigasuriya reportedly said that under the order, legal action would be taken against anyone having links with the listed groups. This would place local activists and alleged group members visiting the country at risk of being detained and held without charge under Sri Lanka's abusive Prevention of Terrorism Act. "The Sri Lankan government is using vague counterterrorism regulations to tie the major diaspora Tamil groups to the ruthless but defunct LTTE," said Brad Adams, Asia director. "This broad-brush sanction could then be used to punish local Tamil activists and politicians with international ties." Sri Lanka's United Nations Regulation No. 1 of 2012 empowers the government to designate individuals, groups or entities believed to "commit or attempt to commit or participate in or facilitate the commission of, terrorist acts" and freeze their financial assets and economic resources. The government's order provides no factual basis for its actions. Most of the groups listed in the order are lawfully registered entities in the various countries in which they are based. The asset freeze also covers 424 individuals. The government should address its legitimate concerns about foreign terrorist financing primarily through legal cooperation with foreign governments. It should promptly produce the factual basis for listing, and ensure organizations and individuals are able to contest their designations before independent and impartial courts. United Nations Resolution No. 1 is derived from UN Security Council Resolution 1373 (2001), passed in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, and requires countries to freeze assets and entities of those "who commit or attempt to commit terrorist acts or participate in or facilitate the commission of terrorist acts." Human Rights Watch has extensively reported on how Resolution 1373 has provided governments broad leeway to create vague and overbroad definitions of terrorist activity and to curtail basic rights. In 2009, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said that Resolution 1373, by serving as a vehicle for "numerous" countries to enact provisions that derogate from international human rights treaties, has had "a very serious negative impact on human rights." In 2010, the then-UN special rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism, Martin Scheinin, said in his final report to the UN General Assembly that the counterterrorism regime created by the Security Council "continues to pose risks to the protection of a number of international human rights standards." Government statements on the asset freezes did not allay concerns of future rights abuses. The chief of national intelligence, Maj. Gen. Kapila Hendawitharana said that those having dealings with the listed persons and organizations could continue to do so as long as they do not violate Sri Lanka's constitution or collect money for terrorism, but did not specify further exactly what actions would be prohibited. Hendawitharana also left open the possibility that the government might issue an outright ban on the persons and organizations listed, and said that more could be added. "The government is putting all Tamil activists at risk by delegitimizing the major Tamil organizations abroad," Adams said. "Putting organizations engaged in peaceful political activity on a terrorist list is a modern version of McCarthyism."

Daily Mirror Sri Lanka

Mar 20, Colombo: A Sri Lankan court has issued warrants to arrest 15 students attached to the Kelaniya University. The Mahara Chief Magistrate issued the arrest warrants on the university students for allegedly disturbing the peace by holding a protest march despite a court order forbidding it. The arrest warrants were issued as the university students had failed to present themselves in Court following a complaint that they had gone ahead with the protest. About 5,000 undergraduate students of Kelaniya University belonging to the Marxist student union launched the protest march to Colombo Wednesday. However, the police fired tear gas and water cannons and dispersed the protesters when they tried to reach the Presidential Secretariat. The protest march was organized by the Inter University Student Federation (IUSF) over several issues faced by the country's education and higher education sectors including the slashing of budgetary allocations to the country's education sector. Source: Colombo Page UPDATE 27/03/2014: Daily Mirror- The students are freed on bail.

Colombo Page | Daily Mirror Sri Lanka

Last night's arrest of Ruki Fernando and Fr. Praveen in Kilinochchi on terrorism charges, soon after the arrest of Jeyakumari Balendran and her young daughter on suspicion of harbouring a criminal, is extremely disturbing and an urgent call to action. In stark contrast to what the Government says in Geneva is what it does in Sri Lanka. Human rights activists are being arrested under draconian laws which permit the authorities to interrogate them in isolation for extended periods of time. It is clear the government wants to go after those who flag human rights abuses. This is happening when deliberations at the Human Rights Council on Sri Lanka are taking place, demonstrating the regime's scant regard for international opinion and scrutiny. It is an urgent call to hold the government accountable and use all means necessary, in Geneva and elsewhere, to secure the safety of Ruki, Fr. Praveen, Jeyakumari, her daughter and others similarly under arrest and detained. Failure to do suggests that words aside, the international community accepts the democratic deficit in Sri Lanka. We received the following updates last night: At around 10.05 pm tonight, several of us received a text message from Ruki Fernando, on his mobile number 0773874xxx stating that Ruki and Father Praveen have been detained at the killnochchi police station, apparently on suspicion of a shooting. Later, Ruki informed a colleague also via text, that he and father Praveen were being questioned separately. A lawyer who called the Killinochchi police station, was informed that no such persons were arrested by the Killinochchi police or being held at the police station. However the police said that two persons had been arrested by a specially appointed unit of the TID and were being held at a separate location in Killinochchi. Another lawyer who spoke to the OIC Killinochchi was informed that Ruki and Praveen were being questioned and a decision regarding their continued detention would be made in the morning. This directly contradicts the version in the para above. We don't know the details of arrest or the facts leading up to it. We are very concerned for their safety and urgently need a lawyer who can visit the police station tonight and find out where they are being held on for what reasons etc. We published two more updates to the situation: Update 1: A lawyer who called the Killinochchi police, was informed that ruki and fr. praveen were being questioned by around 15 TID officers at the Killinochchi Police station. The HRC has also been informed that both persons are being held at the police station. Still no clear reasons for this treatment and we have also not been able to find a lawyer in Jaffna/Vavuniya/Killi who can visit the police station. Update 2: there is a possibility that ruki and father praveen ay be moved to colombo or vavuniya, but we have not been able to verify where they are at present.As journalist Dinouk Colomboge notes on Twitter, Ruki has been a prolific author on Groundviews, covering over the years issues and incidents mainstream media has often glossed over and the Government claims simply don't exist, are fabricated or over-hyped. A number of videos featuring Ruki's take on the human rights conditions in Sri Lanka can be viewed here. UPDATE : 21 March 2015 Statement to mark one year since the issuing of the gag order, travel restrictions and TID investigation against Sri Lankan human rights defender Ruki Fernando. The 21st March 2015 will mark one year since a court order restricting the freedom of expression on leading Sri Lankan human rights defender and writer, Ruki Fernando was obtained by the Terrorist Investigation Department (TID). Such restriction on freedom of expression of a prolific writer and commentator on human rights issues such as Ruki, is unprecedented in recent Sri Lankan history. Ruki and another colleague were arrested on 16th March 2014 during a fact finding mission to the war ravaged Northern part of the country. Both were released on 19th March 2014 after massive national and international outrage. Immediately after his release, Ruki gave interviews to local and international media. As a result of this, he faced intimidation after his release and a fresh investigation was launched against him by the TID. The TID also obtained Court Orders restriction Ruki's overseas travels and freedom of expression, and also confiscated communication equipment , all of which are effective till today. Ruki's arrest had resulted in him being branded a traitor and terrorist supporter by some media and Sinhalese nationalist groups, and the restriction on freedom of expression had made it difficult for him to respond to such accusations and defamation and defend himself. His human rights work locally and internationally as well as personal life has been constrained by the need to go to courts each time he needs to travel overseas. Even after obtaining court permission, he was compelled to miss a flight when he was travelling overseas for a human rights conference and he had faced delays, humiliation on other occasions he was travelling overseas for human rights work, due to being stopped and questioned by the Immigration and State Intelligence Service officers. It is now more than 4 months since Ruki's lawyers had made verbal and written submissions to the Attorney General's Department about the closure of the case and lifting of the restrictions . There has been an indication of readiness to lift the travel restriction. But the Attorney General's Department and the TID has refused to close the investigation, return the confiscated equipment and lift of the gag order. This clearly indicates the continuing anti -human rights and media freedom mind-set of the security establishment and the insensitivity of the new political leadership towards same. It shows that HRDs released from detention can be subjected to continued harassments and restrictions, despite the new political leadership in Sri Lanka. The conditions imposed on Ms. Balendran Jeyakumari, a woman HRD released on bail on 10th March 2015 after 362 days in detention, reaffirms this. We the undersigned fully endorse and look forward to "...the day when all human rights defenders and dissenters can be free from accusations of supporting terrorism and are able enjoy their rights to express themselves and travel freely" (as said by Ruki ). Signatures: Individuals 1. Ainslie Joseph - Convener/Chief Animator, Christian Alliance for Social Action (CASA) 2. Amal de Chickera 3. Anberiya Hanifa 4. Anthony Jesudasan 5. B. Gowthaman 6. Balasingham Skanthakumar 7. Brito Fernando 8. Budi Tjahjono 9. Chamila Thushari 10. Damaris Wickremesekera 11. Deanne Uyangoda 12. Dr. Cheran Rudhramoorthy 13. Dr. Leonie Solomons - Executive Director, Language Matters 14. Dr. Muhammad Muzzammil Cader - Convener, People's Movement for Non-Violence 15. Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu - Executive Director, Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) 16. Dr. Richard Perera 17. Dulan de Silva 18. E.M. Bandara Menike 19. Emil van der Poorten - Community Activist seeking to uphold basic human rights 20. Faizun Zackariya - Citizens' Voice for Justice and Peace 21. Freddy Gamage - Editor, Meepura Newspaper 22. Godfrey Yogarajah - Executive Director, World Evangelical Alliance - Religious Liberty Commission (WEA RLC) 23. Herman Kumara - Convener, NAFSO 24. Ian Ferdinands 25. Indika Udugampola 26. Jake Oorloff 27. Jayampathi Bulathsinhala 28. Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala 29. Joanne Senn 30. Joe William 31. Jovita Arulanantham 32. K. Guruparan - Attorney-at-Law 33. Kalani Subasinghe 34. Kelly Senanayaka 35. Krishan Rajapakshe 36. Kusal Perera - Journalist 37. Laaurence KWARK 38. Lesley Sirimane 39. M. Nilashani 40. M.M. Rahman - Journalist, Mannar 41. Manjula Wediwardana 42. Marianne Johnpillai 43. Marisa de Silva 44. Melani Manel Perera - Journalist 45. Melisha Yapa 46. Menaha Kandasamy - Red Flag Women's Movement 47. Monica Alfred 48. Nalini Ratnarajah - Women Human Rights Defender 49. Nicola Perera 50. Nilantha Ilangamuwa - Journalist & Editor of Sri Lanka Guardian 51. Nilshan Fonseka 52. Nimal Perera - CSM 53. Nimalka Fernando 54. Nirmala Rajasingam 55. P. Selvaratnam 56. P. Vijayashanthan - Theatre Activist 57. P.N. Singham 58. Paba Deshapriya 59. Philip Setunga 60. Poddala Jayantha 61. Prof. Ajit Abeysekera 62. Prof. Jayadeva Uyangoda - University of Colombo 63. Prof. Jayantha Seneviratne - University of Kelaniya 64. R.M.B Senanayake - Retired C.C.S 65. Rajany Chandrasegaram 66. Ranjith Henayakaarachchi 67. Rasika Manobuddhi 68. Ravindra Chandralal 69. Rev. Dr. Rayappu Joseph - Bishop of Mannar 70. Rev. Fr. Jeyabalan Croos 71. Rev. Fr. Sherard Jayawardane 72. Rev. Fr. T. L. R. Dominic 73. Rev. Jason J. Selvaraja - Assembly of God, Chavakachcheri 74. Rev. Sr. Anne Perera- HF - CSM 75. Rev. Sr. Deepa Fernando - HF 76. Rev. Sr. Noel Christine Fernando - SCJM, Sri Lanka 77. Rohini Hensman - Writer and Independent Scholar 78. S. R. Perera 79. S.C.C. Elankovan 80. Sampath Samarakoon 81. Senaka Wattegedara 82. Shantha D. Pathirana - Human Rights Defender 83. Shreen Saroor 84. Sunanda Deshapriya 85. Suren D. Perera 86. T. Mathuri - Attorney-at-Law 87. Tanuja Thurairajah - Researcher 88. Tejshree Thapa 89. Udaya R. Tennakoon 90. V. Sanjeev 91. Visaka Dharmadasa Organizations 92. Association of War Affected Women (AWAW) 93. National Peace Council (NPC) 94. Rights Now Collective for Democracy

Groundviews | Srilanka Guardian | Asian Human Rights Commission | Daily Mirror Sri Lanka | Colombo Telegraph | Sri Lanka Brief

Activist groups are now confirming that a Tamil woman from Kilinochchi and her 13 year old daughter have been arrested by police investigators following a five hour raid on their home at Dharmapuram last evening. Both of them are reportedly being held in Vavuniya. Reports that Balendran Jeyakumari a prominent campaigner for families of the disappeared in the Kilinochchi District and her daughter were being detained inside her home which is in the Indian Housing scheme broke late afternoon yesterday (13). Media and Tamil politician Gajen Ponnambalam reported that Jayakumari's home had been surrounded by police and armed forces personnel at about 4:30 P.M. on Thursday (13). Ponnambalam and other friends who called Jayakumari on her phone reported that the woman had first answered and that later her phone was snatched away by men claiming to be police, who said there was an investigation under way before switching off the mobile. Neighbours reported the sound of screams and crying by Vithushaini at the home. Media personnel rushing to the scene were not permitted to get close to Jayakumari's residence, with police cordoning off the area near her home. For several hours no reports emerged about their whereabouts, although late Wednesday night, Ponnambalam said there were unconfirmed reports Jayakumari and her daughter had been arrested. Police meanwhile, told reporters in Colombo that one policeman had been injured in an attack when a team of police personnel was attempting to arrest a suspected Ex-LTTE cadre in Kilinochchi. Police Spokesman Ajith Rohana told the BBC on Thursday that the suspect had been in a house in which there were two women who were now being investigated. More unconfirmed reports are emerging about further police casualties. Jayakumari and her daughter Vithushaini are familiar faces in disappearances protests and were heavily photographed during the missing peoples' protest in Jaffna when British Prime Minister David Cameron visited the area during CHOGM in November last year. Jayakumari had four children - two sons were killed in the war and a third went missing after she handed him over to the military in May 2009. Her 13 year old daughter is her last remaining child. Both Jayakumari and her daughter handed over documents of their family members last whereabouts and information to Channel 4?s Jonathan Snow who was mobbed by the demonstrators in Jaffna during Cameron's visit. Sources said that the two women were being harassed on suspicion of having been informants for the British Broadcaster. Video of demonstration at Nallur Kovil Jaffna prior to Cameron's arrival in the North shows Jayakumari and her daughter are in the first row of protestors. UPDATE: 10 March 2015 Jeyakumari was released after 362 days in detention under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) without charges. The Court granted conditional bail of Rs. 200,000 (approx. USD 1,464) and imposed travel ban by impounding her passport and ordering her to report to a police station twice a month. Police will continue investigations into her case.

Colombo Telegraph | Daily FT

A Buddhist monk, who campaigned for inter-faith harmony was found assaulted today with cut wounds, and has been hospitalized in Sri Lanka. The General Secretary of Jathika Bala Sena, Ven. Watareka Vijitha Thero was reportedly abducted and found beaten with cut wounds in the Bandaragama area this morning, the police said. He was admitted to the Panadura hospital and was later transferred to Colombo National Hospital for further treatments. According to the information received by the Panadura Police, Ven. Wataraka Vijitha Thero was found with his hands and feet tied up early this morning on the road side in an area called Hirana. Ven. Wataraka Vijitha Thero was threatened by Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera, leader of the extremist Buddhist group Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) in April during an inter-faith press conference he held with the Muslim religious leaders. The militant monk leader of BBS disrupted the press conference and made Watareka Vijitha Thero to apologize. The Thero later complained to the Slave Island police that he apologized due to threats to his life. Earlier this month the BBS leader threatened the lawyer, former Provincial Councilor of the United National Party (UNP) Maithri Gunarathna, who was representing the victimized monk, at the court premises. Panadura Police has begun investigations into the assault on Watareka Vijitha Thero.

Colombo Page

On the night of April 14, 2014, Mr. Sivagnanam Selvatheepan, a Tamil journalist, was brutally attacked by two masked men in the Puraapporukki area of Jaffna Peninsula, in Northern Sri Lanka. Although, the assailants attacked with metal rods with intent to kill, Selvatheepan miraculously survived the murderous attack. The International Council of Eelam Tamils strongly condemns the attack on journalists who are risking their lives to bring out news about the atrocities committed by the occupying forces. Selvatheepan was the Jaffna Vadamaraachchi region correspondent for Virakesari, Thinakkural, and Valampuri newspapers. As a member of the Jaffna Press Club, he had been informing the Jaffna Press Club and his fellow journalist about the continuing threats to his life. Recently, the Nelliady Police Station had obtained personal details about him. The assailants who followed him for a few kilometers clearly identified him prior to the vicious attack. It should also be noted that Selvatheepan, accompanied by his mother, gave evidence about his missing brother to the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission appointed by the Government of Sri Lanka. The fact that he was attacked in a closely guarded area with heavy military presence points to the strong links between the assailants and the military. Journalists and editors working for Puthiyavan, another regional newspaper from Mannar District located in the Northwestern part of Sri Lanka, have been receiving death threats from a politician aligned with the Government of Sri Lanka. The Government of Sri Lanka has also refused to extend the Visa of BBC correspondent Mr. Charles Haviland. All of these point to a strong culture of repression of the press freedom in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka will continue to muzzle the press in order to hide its genocidal project coming to the attention of the international community. We strongly urge the international community to intervene and stop the attack on journalist and protect the Tamils from ongoing genocide.

The Hindu

Two student activists were abducted by the Government of Sri Lanka and 17 student activists were remanded until May 19th, says the Inter University Students' Federation. Issuing a statement the IUSF today said; "Abducting and illegally detaining students without warrants and assaulting them is a grave violation of the fundamental rights of the students activists. We categorically condemn this political witch hunt of student activists by the police in collusion with the courts, especially in the context of the Higher Education Minister S.B.Dissanayake's open threat towards IUSF activists and their families. We invite the people of this country to organize and rally to protect educational, political and fundamental rights of the students."\ We publish below the statement in full; Although the Government of Sri Lanka has failed to give solutions to the cut in the Allied Health Sciences' degree and the resistance action of Rajarata students against the repressive university administration, it has launched a campaign of repression against the student activists fighting for education rights. The latest step by the police in this direction is following students in civil attire and abducting and illegally detaining them. Police has conducted two such illegal abductions. In both these abductions they have produced fake warrants against the students. These abductions happened when the students were leaving after a protest action held in front of the University Grants Commission yesterday (16) afternoon. The first abduction happened at about 3.45 in the evening in front of the Post Office in Town Hall. Police officers in civil attire have followed 4 students, ambushed them and a three wheeler and a jeep that arrived suddenly have abducted them. Then they were illegally detained at the Kirulapona Police Station. Second abduction happened at about 5.35 in the evening. Students have got into a bus to go to Colombo Fort and again police officers in civil attire had got into the bus had attempted to arrest a student under a warrant issued in the name of a different person. Students had protested the illegal arrest of the fellow student and the police had arbitrarily ordered the driver to take the bus along with the 13 students to Slave Island Police Station. When the bus arrived at the Police Station the police have inhumanly attacked the students with batons and poles right in front of the Police Station. As of now, students who were injured were not even hospitalized. Students were presented in front of the Fort Magistrate at his residence in Mount Lavinia at about 10.30 in the night and the Magistrate had ordered them to be remanded until 19th. Allied Health Science Students activists of Universities of Ruhuna and Peradeniya are thus being illegally detained and Students Council President of University of Peradeniya, Dimuthu Gunasekere is also among the illegally detained. Abducting and illegally detaining students without warrants and assaulting them is a grave violation of the fundamental rights of the students activists. We categorically condemn this political witch hunt of student activists by the police in collusion with the courts, especially in the context of the Higher Education Minister S.B.Dissanayake's open threat towards IUSF activists and their families. We invite the people of this country to organize and rally to protect educational, political and fundamental rights of the students.

Colombo Telegraph

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.

UN OHCHR

Alleged attack on human rights defender. According to the information received, on 17 December 2012, Mr. Gunaratne Wanninayaka was attacked outside his home by four unknown individuals carrying assault rifles. Mr. Wanninayaka managed to escape and enter his house, while the armed individuals followed him and attempted unsuccessfully to gain entry to his residence. Mr. Wanninayaka is a high-profile campaigner for the independence of the judiciary in Sri Lanka and is President of the Colombo Magistrate's Court Lawyers Association. He was at the forefront of a recent campaign opposing the impeachment of a Supreme Court judge.

UN OHCHR

COLOMBO : A Catholic-run human rights group working in northeastern Sri Lanka said Monday it had been harassed by security personnel after meeting UN rights chief Navi Pillay last week. Pillay ended her first official visit to the formerly war-ravaged country at the weekend with a stinging press conference in which she accused the government of becoming "increasingly authoritarian". Veerasan Yogeswaran, a 60-year-old Jesuit priest who runs the Centre for Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, said five or six plainclothes policemen visited him at midnight and before dawn, just hours after the meeting with Pillay. "The concern is that they are going to homes at midnight and questioning people," the priest told AFP from his home in Trincomalee, 260 kilometres (160 miles) northeast of the capital Colombo. "This should not happen four years after the war has ended. People feel harassed and intimidated. "Just imagine the plight of the ordinary people when they are visited at midnight by the security forces." Pillay denounced the intimidation of people she had spoken to during her week-long fact-finding mission to probe alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka, which is under international pressure over its rights record. "This type of surveillance and harassment appears to be getting worse in Sri Lanka, which is a country where critical voices are quite often attacked or even permanently silenced," she said on Saturday. The Centre for Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in eastern Sri Lanka helps families of people who went missing during and after Sri Lanka's decades-long Tamil separatist war as well as people in detention. Rights activist Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, who heads the Colombo-based Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), said he travelled to the war-affected districts of Mullaittivu and Jaffna and spoke to local people who also said they were questioned after meeting Pillay. "I have had reports confirming that civilians who spoke with her... had been visited and questioned by people they suspected to be military intelligence or army," Saravanamuttu told AFP. The CPA chief who is a member of the ethnic Tamil minority is routinely denounced on state television as a traitor and Tamil Tiger supporter. Sri Lanka's government has criticised Pillay, saying that she transgressed her mandate. It denied anyone who spoke with her had been harassed. Information Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said the government was prepared to probe her allegations of intimidation if she could provide evidence. "Those who make these allegations are only trying to discredit the country," Rambukwella told reporters. "If there is a complaint from them to the law enforcement authorities, we are ready to have a complete investigation." There was no immediate comment from the UN in Colombo or Pillay's office in Geneva to government demands for evidence of intimidation. Sri Lanka's battle with separatists from the minority ethnic Tamil group ended in 2009 with a no-holds-barred military offensive which crushed the Tamil Tiger rebel group. The military campaign sparked allegations that troops killed up to 40,000 civilians and committed other war crimes such as executing surrendering Tamil rebels and shelling civilian centres which had been declared no-fire zones. In March, the UN passed a second resolution in as many years pressing Sri Lanka to investigate alleged war crimes more thoroughly.

The Nation Pakistan

COLOMBO -- A Sri Lankan media rights group on Sunday accused the military of intimidating journalists who reported a deadly army crackdown on villagers protesting at contaminated water supplies. The army has been come under pressure after soldiers fired on unarmed locals on August 1 in a village outside Colombo, killing three, as they protested against a factory which they say polluted their ground water. The Free Media Movement (FMM) said the army summoned reporters, photographers and video persons to give evidence as part of a military investigation into the incident. "Summoning the journalists who were also badly assaulted by the army to give evidence is seen by us as further intimidation," FMM convener Sunil Jayasekera told AFP. "They (the media) were asked to come to an army camp on Saturday, but they did not comply." Jayasekera said the rights group was willing to cooperate with a separate police investigation also under way , but not one conducted by the army considering its own soldiers were accused of wrongdoing. "We have asked the military to tell us under what law are they summoning the journalists to army camps to give evidence." Military spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya denied troops were intimidating witnesses, and said they issued summonses in the interests of a fair inquiry and to corroborate evidence gathered so far. At least 26 journalists have fled Sri Lanka in the past five years to escape threats, intimidation, violence and imprisonment, according to the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. At least five journalists have been killed in the same period. Sri Lanka was ranked 162 out of 179 countries in a recent press freedom index compiled by the Paris-based Reporters without Borders. Media rights groups say journalists have been forced to self-censor their work due to fear of attacks. Residents of Weliweriya, the village 20 kilometers (12 miles) northeast of Colombo, have also told Sri Lanka's Human Rights Council of their fear of intimidation following army summonses to give evidence, local media reports said Sunday. The U.S. and the European Union have condemned the August 1 shooting and called for a speedy civilian inquiry to prosecute those responsible. The incident comes ahead of a visit next week by U.N. human rights chief Navi Pillay, who has demanded an international probe into alleged war crimes by Sri Lankan forces during the final stages of a war against Tamil rebels in 2009.

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Complaint made to the HRC-SL and IGP by Dr. Nimalka Fernando The radio programme titled Rata Yana Atha (The way country is forging ahead) broadcasted in the Commercial Channel of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation on 4th November 2013 was based on a voice cut given by me to the Hiru TV to be relayed in the HARD TALK segment during the daily news bulletin. I had listened to the original version of the HARD TALK relayed on Sunday 3rd of November by HIRU TV. On 4th November morning I received several telephone calls from friends and relatives stating that a statement made by me to HIRU TV is being used in a radio programme of the SLBC in an improper manner including causing threat to my life. According to them what was said in this programme was going to cause a real danger to my life. Since the telephone calls received were of serious nature taking note of their concerns I decided to switch on the radio to listen to this particular programme around 9.00am on the 4th. I listened to the programme for about 30 minutes. What I heard was so violent , defamatory and stressfulI and I had no mental strength to continue to listen any further. The synopsis of what I heard is given below: The main title of the Programme was Stoning the Sinner Woman' Broadcast: Sections of what I said in the Hard Talk interview 59 years old...divorced....serving 30 organisations...about Rs 100,000...since 1989 carried tales....' From the studio voice of Mr Hudson Samarasinghe Chairman of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation See what she has done' Then calls were taken. I am writing only what I remember though much more abusive and defaming statements were made by the callers , Mr Hudson Samarasinghe and a person called Gayan who was present in the studio as the compeer of the programme: Call 1: " We can not allow persons like Nimalka Fernando to live in this society" Call 2: " We use insecticides to eliminate the spread of mosquitoes. Some mosquitoes develop a resistance to such spray. These people are like that. We have to find a method to destroy them." Call 3: "If we do something to them the government will be blamed by the human rights people. We should use a lorry and cause an accident." Call 4: " There is something call cleaning in the army. Mr Gotabaya knows this. We should hand her over to the cleaning system." Call 5: "Chairperson, today you have started a good activity. Continue this upto March 2014 and begin to deal with the NGO clan one by one." While callers were making such statements Mr Hudson Samarasinghe was actively involved in supporting the ideas expressed to eliminate me. The words he used welcomed such ideas as well as endorsed them. The person called Gayan too (present in the studio) joined him agreeing to the ideas and facilitated the calls. Most of the callers were men. During the 30 minutes at least 3 of them identified themselves as those who had served the armed forces and retired. Another caller said that he has a friend who was injured during the war. Some callers also mentioned names of Vickramabahu and Lal Kantha who are political leaders in Sri Lanka who have expressed fearlessly their positions publicly. They were of the view that the society has not taken action against them'. Mr Hudson Samarasinghe who is the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation did not stop the callers from making offensive and derogatory statement nor spreading such violent ideas against me. He did not disassociated himself from these comments which called for my annihilation. I heard a caller referring to me as a prostitute. The Chairperson of the SLBC encouraged all these comments and further encouraged openly defamation and my annihilation. The totality of this programme is the creation of a dialogue through a government media to destroy my life. On 26 November 2013, a Joint Urgent Appeal (JUA) was addressed to Sri Lanka by the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; and the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. Sri Lanka has not responded.

Sri Lanka Brief26/11/13 JUA: UN OHCHR

As we are all aware, there is a prolonged campaign against the government's attempt to legalize South Asian Institute for Technology and Management (SAITM) as a Private Medical College without proper accreditation by Sri Lanka Medical Council. University Students of Medical and all other Faculties are at the forefront of a battle against SAITM and have demanded its nationalization. As the campaign against SAITM has grown to be a national movement, the government has turned undemocratic to suppress it by using covert and overt violent means. As a result of the government's brutal suppression of several protests many student protesters were injured, and several leading student activists are being held in custody indefinitely. The government seems to be determined to suppress the anti-SAITM student movement by arresting its entire leadership. The government is targeting student leaders by unleashing violence and using intelligence services and civil clad military personnel to arrest them. The most recent example occurred on 20th July 2017 when there was an attempt to abduct a leading student activist, Ryan Jayalath, by some men without uniforms who were supported by the Police. Fortunately, Ryan could not be abducted due to the intervention of some activists who were around him. He was being clearly targeted for his activism. The government in arresting student leaders and suppressing their campaign undemocratically, is acting against the very principle of good governance. We as concerned academics belonging to several Universities and several other organizations working for the right of free education and social justice have resolved to condemn the government's attempt to suppress students and make a mockery of the rule of the law in this country. With this objective we will hold a Press Conference on 23rd July at 2.00 .p.m. at the Center for Society and Religion (CSR), Maradana. We kindly invite your media organization to attend this press briefing and provide wide publicity for the stance we are taking in order to safeguard the rights of student activists in particular and condemn the government's undemocratic and brutal approach in general.

Sri Lanka Guardian

On 14 June 2017, during a the TV talk show titled "Aluth Parlimenthuwa (new parliament)", Lakshan highlighted that Muslim and Christian places of worship are under attack and that 195 attacks against Christians have been reported since 8 January 2015. Lakshan has been a determined and long standing campaigner and advocate on the rights of religious minorities. He often travels far to rural areas, interacts with victimized communities, publicizes their plight, and appears in courts across the country on numerous cases, during this Government and under the previous Government. Although he was referring to the NCEASL report, he is personally aware of many such incidents. His comments on the TV talk show, especially his candid assertion that Buddhist Monks are behind some of these attacks, drew immediate and angry reactions from a hostile anchor and two other panelists. And within days, it also drew negative reactions from President Sirisena and Minister of Justice and Buddhasasana, Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, both of whom were quoted on primetime news of government TV station, ITN on 17 June 2017. President Sirisena said that he had called the Catholic Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, and asked from him about attacks on Catholics/Christians (although Lakshan never mentioned attacks on Catholics in the TV talk show). According to President Sirisena, the Cardinal had said that there had been no such attacks. Minister Wijeyadasa misquotes Lakshan as having said 166 attacks against Christians in recent days of this year (what Lakshan actually said is that there have been 195 attacks between 8th January 2015 till todate). The Minister then goes on to say that the Cardinal had claimed no such incidents have happened in Sri Lanka. On June 17, 2017, Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe threatened Lakshan Dias to "take necessary steps to remove him from the legal profession" unless Dias apologized for remarks on a television program three days earlier about attacks on the Christian community.

Groundviews

On 20 May 2017, Father Elil Rajan was summoned in relation to a commemorative event he organised near St. Paul's Church in East Mullivaaikkal, a village on the north-east coast of Sri Lanka which was the scene of the final battle of the civil war. The event consisted of placing rocks carved with the names of Tamil victims of this final battle. While the police summons was withdrawn, the human rights defender was asked to provide the list of names that was engraved on the rocks. Father Elil Rajan had previously been summoned and questioned on 16 May by the Mullaitivu Police and on 19 May by the Vavuniya Police over the event he organised for Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day on 18 May, a commemorative day observed by Tamil people to remember those who died in the final stages of the civil war. The ongoing harassment of Father Elil Rajan is part of a broader crackdown on Tamil civil society, which has been subjected to other forms of harassment, intimidation and surveillance which hinder non-exclusionary truth and reconciliation efforts by restricting the recognition and remembrance of human rights violations suffered by Tamil people during the civil war. Human rights defenders such as Father Elil Rajan who work on Tamil issues and for the inclusion of the Tamil perspective in truth and reconciliation efforts, are particularly targeted through surveillance, and freedom of expression and assembly is restricted in Tamil regions, especially in military-occupied territories affected by the civil war. Police occasionally use excessive force to disperse protesters, and the army has imposed some restrictions on assembly in the North and East, particularly for planned memorial events concerning the end of the war, which impact human rights defenders working on violations perpetrated in the region both during and after the civil war. These restrictions have disproportionately affected Tamil people.

Front Line Defenders

Ms. Nimalka Fernando and Mr. Sunanda Deshapriya participated in the UNHRC 34th session in March 2017 where the resolution entitled "Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka (A/HRC/34/1)" was adopted by consensus with the co-sponsorship of the Government of Sri Lanka. It decided to request the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to continue its assessment on progress on the implementation of the Office's recommendations and other relevant processes related to truth, justice, accountability, reconciliation and human rights in Sri Lanka for next two years. Since the adoption of the resolution on 23rd March, the two human rights defenders have been subject to smear campaigns. After the UNHRC session, a public campaign was launched on Facebook which brands Ms. Fernando and Mr. Deshapriya as traitors. Their pictures were placed next to the image of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's flag with texts calling them "white tigers". Such stigmatization would pose them to a risk for attack, intimidation and harassment. On 27th March, a protest was organised by the Women for Justice (WFJ) Organization on the street of Ms. Fernando's residence. The demonstrators condemned her that she is lying to the United Nations and working for foreign money. Those personal attacks by alleged non-State actors raise serious concerns on the safety of the human rights defenders who rightfully engaged with the UNHRC. Since 30th March, a number of Sri Lankan human rights defenders including Ms. Fernando and Mr. Deshapriya have been named by certain individuals in Sri Lankan media. They are labelled as "foreign-funded NGOs working against the country". The reprisals against the two human rights defenders were reactions to the new UNHRC resolution on Sri Lanka. The perpetrators claimed that the two are responsible for the Council's decision to extend the OHCHR's monitoring on the country. Yet in fact, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein clearly recommended the UNHRC "to continue its close engagement with the Government of Sri Lanka and to monitor developments in the country", based on his office's independent and comprehensive assessment of the country's progress on the transitional justice process. At the same time, he drew attention to the continuing incidents of harassment of human rights defenders, the use of hate speech and aggressive hate campaigns against groups and individuals in Sri Lanka. The recent two attacks are clear examples of reprisals against human rights defenders who cooperate with the UN human rights system. In 2015, the Government of Sri Lanka demonstrated its commitment by co-sponsoring the UNHRC resolution 30/1 to address all attacks against human rights defenders, hold perpetrators accountable and prevent future attacks. However, we regret that the Government failed to investigate the previous incidents n against human rights defenders including Ms. Fernando's case in 2013. It left the culture of impunity unaddressed which facilitated the recent attacks against Ms. Fernando and Mr. Deshapriya.

Sri Lanka Brief

A well known as a human rights defender Rev. Fr. Nandana Manatunga, is being harassed by the police including the OIC of Wattegama Police Station, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)�_ reports.�_ Rev. Fr. Nandana Manatunga is the parish priest of St. Mary's Church in Wattegama, Kandy District. Following a land dispute with the owner of land ajoining the Wattegama Street, St.Mary's Church, police officers began harassing the priest, impartially carrying out the rule of law. The Priest states that he supported several torture victims in their legal battles against their torturers. In this case, two police officers attached to the Wattegama Police Station, were sentenced to 7 years rigorous imprisonment on 3rd, December 2014. Nandana said that he has been subjected to police harassment in revenge for his supportive help for torture victimss. He demands immediate justice. This case illustrates the collapse of the rule of law in Sri Lanka, says AHRC. CASE NARRATIVE: According to information received by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), Rev. Fr. Nandana Manatunga is the parish priest of St. Mary's Church in Wattegama in Kandy District. He is a well-known human rights activist and the Director of the Human Rights Office of Kandy. St. Mary's Church and its premises belong to the Roman Catholic Church, administration coming under the perview of the Bishop of Kandy. There was a long, boundary dispute with the owner of the ajoining land, due to his grabbing of land belonging to the church. The administration of the Bishop's House in Kandy took legal action against him in the District Court of Teldeniya. This case is pending under No: L/170/13, where the church adminstration is the plaintiff and the ajoining land owner, Francis Richard, is the defendant. In early 2016, Fr. Nandana learned that Francis Richard made a complaint against the church. On several occasions, police officers harassed Father when he inquired about the complaint. When Fr. Nandana went to the police station to clarify the situation, he was subjected to filthy language by Francis Richard and his wife. The police did not stop the abuse, simply allowing it. On 28 January 2016, when he was called to the Wattegama Police Station for a complaint made by Francis Richard, reference No: MCR 2575/16CH/ 102-03-06, Fr. Nandana retained his attorney-at-law, Mr. Padmadakshan who accompanied him to the police station. But when the inquiry was called up, the Police Officer-in-Charge (OIC), dismissed the lawyer and would not allow him to represent Father Nandana. The Priest was strictly warned by the OIC not to come to the police station again. If there was any dispute in future, the police would produce both parties in court and execute a bond for keeping the peace. Before this incident, on 17th June 2015, Francis Richard came into the mission house with one of his workers who was carrying a knife and threatening the priest. He then filed a complaint No: MCR 2286/15. It was not investigated, nor was the person who carried the knife called to the police station. Again, on 13th August 2016 Francis Richard complained to the police. Police officer (No: 47062) came to St. Mary's Church with Francis Richard and threatened the Priest. "Your priest is grabbing land and if he does not come to the police station, he will be arrested." At that, the police officer and Richard who were good friends went to the complainant's house for refreshments. Rev. Fr. Nandana, on 15 August 2016, did not go to the police station. He wrote to the OIC saying that he would not come given the above reasons. He lodged a complaint with the Senior Superintendant of Police (SSP), Kandy, regarding the continuous harassments and the non-investigation of his complaints. He reported the illegal inactions of the OIC and other officers of the Wattegama Police Station. Considering the appeal to higher authorities and submission of the Teldeniya District Court proceedings, the priest, through his lawyer made the following request: copies of the complaints made against him and made by him from the OIC office. But his request was denied. He learned later, that all copies were given to Francis Richard. Rev. Fr. Nandana states that the OIC and other police officers attached to the Wattegama Police Station, illegally harassed him. Further, they implemented the law maliciously. Fr. Nandana, states that two police officers from the Wattegama Police Station were sentenced to 7 years of rigorous imprisonment on 3th December 2015. Both were former police officers at Wattegama. He further reiterated, that as the Director of the Human Rights Office Kandy, he pioneered assistance work for these two torture victims. Both were brutally tortured by two police officers of the Wattegama Police. Fr. Nandana states that therefore it is obvious that Wattegama OIC and the police officers are using Francis Richard to facilitate these psychological harassements in taking revenge. Rev. Fr. Nandana states that his fundamental rights were violated by Sri Lankan State Officers. He demands justice and is waiting for a fair and impartial implementation of the rule of the law by the police officers.

Sri Lanka Brief

By Ruwan Nelugolla. Following a book launch yesterday (03), I returned home at Kalalgoda Road after 11.00 pm. As I was having a chat with some of my friends at home, policemen in uniform and civics stormed in, dragging behind them a friend of ours by the name of Sanjaya, who is staying with us. As he was on his way to a boutique nearby, a police jeep stopped him, asked if he was a drug user, removed his clothes on the road and searched him. He was beaten up and dragged into the house. The police searched the house for drugs and finding nothing, tried to take all of us to the police station. Continuing my protestations, I asked them as to how they could do so. A man in civics, uttering raw filth and wielding a pistol, assaulted me and said I would be sent to prison by fabricating a heroin and ganja case against me. They dragged Sanjaya and me to the jeep. When they showed us the pistol, I asked if they were going to shoot us. Since I did nothing wrong and there was nothing to fear the police, and it was the police that had been abusing the law, I went to the jeep. After getting in, I took my mobile phone out, and the same person in civics asked as to whom I was going to call and again assaulted me. Then, I told them that I am a journalist working for Lanka News Web, and that the police had no right to assault people like that. Saying, "Your mother *** media", that person continued beating me up all they way until the jeep reached Thalangama police station. That is how the police marked its 150th anniversary yesterday. By the time Sanjaya and I were taken to the police station, our lawyer was already there. The police settled the matter and freed us. After being beaten by the police, I was not in a mental condition to get hospitalized, and returned home. On the previous day, there was an exchange of words with the police during a protest near Galle Face Green. Police did not allow us the peaceful protestors to go to the Presidential Secretariat to seek justice for Madhushka de Silva of Anuradhapura who was made to disappear three years ago. It ended with top police officials hiding behind a group of police women and warning of arrest on a charge of harassing the women if we tried to proceed forward. Madhushka's wife too, was with us and we did not want to inconvenience a group of women in police uniform who were being used against us. As we dispersed, two men from the police traffic division asked us for our identity cards. When we opposed their asking us for our identifications without a purpose, they called the Colombo Fort police and brought in two more policemen. We showed them our identity cards with an advice that they should not terrify us in the same manner they had terrified the average citizens of the north and elsewhere. Only the police that came yesterday know if these two incidents were related. Anyway, I am the aggrieved party and in both incidents, the culprit was the Sri Lanka Police Department. I work as a journalist of Lanka News Web website, and also an activist of the national movement for freedom for political prisoners. I know the law to a certain extent. Had an average citizen faced what I had to face yesterday, he would be behind bars by now. This is how Sri Lanka's police enforce the law. The person who assaulted me wielded his pistol and threatened me inside the jeep saying, "I first killed a man when I was at Year 11." Which institution is responsible for finding out if those in the police are murderers? The only reason for wielding a pistol and attacking me was my question of as to how they could take people like the way they did. I do not know how the police can be so conceited that a citizen could not ask them a question. That is clearly the lawlessness.

Sri Lanka Brief

A memorandum showing how the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) violates the rights of political prisoners. During the last 30 years due to the war that prevailed in the northern and eastern areas of Sri Lanka arrests were made. While the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) was made use of from arrests like that up to the court proceedings through that those persons as well as the Tamil people as a community of people were subjected to a grave violation of human rights. The persons who were arrested under the PTA during the past from time to time were released though judicial processes as well as though political decisions. (ex: the detainees of all armed organizations operating in the north and east who were arrested and detained were granted release based on political decisions during the 1987 period. In 2001 when the government changed and the peace agreement was signed the release of detainees on political decisions has taken place). Such releases took place in instances when the war situation has not ended. While the arrests and detentions under the PTA prevailed at a very high level during the last stages of the war with the end of the war fifteen thousand (15,000) had been under arrest. They have got the release though various methodologies and got integrated with the society and only a small number of persons still remain under detention in prisons. Up to date seven years have lapsed after the end of the war. Even from time to time arrests and detentions are made making use of the PTA. During a period of more than 30 years making use of the PTA from the point of arrest up to the point of acquittal or conviction within the judicial process have entailed grave violations of human rights and disregard of the law causing intensive injustices and it still continues to happen. We are presenting below major concerns we have identified. 1. Arrest __� While the arrest have happened in an arbitrary way what has happened in most instances were abductions. __� Few days after the abduction the detention within a police division comes to be known. __� Unidentified groups abducting and handing over to legitimate security divisions after detaining at unknown places for weeks or months. __� The abductees have been subjected to torture in terrible ways. 2. Detention __� After arrests keeping in detention under Detention Orders for long periods (most detainees for one and a half years or more unlawfully) purportedly for investigations in various police divisions and thereafter remanding them. __� There are persons who have been kept under the custody of investigation divisions for more than 5 years. They have been indicted in High Courts while being detained as such and are being produced in courts for the cases under the custody of those divisions. They have not been presented in a Magistrate Court even for one day. __� Had been subjected to torture while being under detention. 3. Obtaining statements __� The statements have been obtained after keeping under detention for long periods on Detention Orders in investigation divisions. (most of the persons have been under detention for one year or for one and a half years.) __� Obtaining statements after subjecting to physical and mental torture while being under detention for long periods. __� Signatures have been obtained through assault or by coercion to documents purported to be confessions made in front of a Assistant Superintendent of Police or higher ranking officer. (Out of the number of cases filed 95% have been filed based on such confessions. The position that most of the persons coming under arrest made confessions voluntarily to an officer of high rank without being pressurized to do so cannot be accepted.) __� Most Tamil detainees often time have been made to sign documents presented to them prepared in Sinhala a language which they don't know. Example: Most of the persons whose details are given in attachments have faced this situation 4. Remanding __� After remanding having been kept in remand for long periods without filing indictment and have been produced in Magistrate Courts only for the extension of the remand order. (There are persons who have been in remand for close upon ten years like that) Example- Attachment (No 29) Subramanium Senduran __� Has to be in remand till the conclusion of the trial without receiving a release on bail. (There are persons who have been in remand like that for 19 years). Example: Fact sheet (No 76) Suppiah Sridharan (No 77) Sinnappu Selvarajah. For both these persons there have been no rails conducted for 19 years and in 2016 on agreement one year imprisonment and 06 months rehabilitation have been imposed and those cases concluded. Presently they are in prison serving the sentence. __� Even though kept under remand for long periods without concluding the cases release on bail is not granted. __� Though kept in remand for long periods of time these people not receiving right treatment for their ailments has even results in loss of lives. The possibilities of granting bail to such patients in remand have not even been considered. __� While there are persons who are over 60 years or even 70 years of age a granting of release on bail for them has not happened. (Even persons who are over 75 years of age have been released only after conviction) __� While the Tamil detainees within prisons have been subjected to severe racially motivated assaults from time to time on a number of instances, the number who have been killed during such assaults number around 100. 5. Maintaining High Court cases __� Nineteen 20 year long periods have been spent without concluding the trials __� The cases have been postponed for 06 to 08 months again and again for long periods (even now such practices continue). __� After dragging the trails for durations like 15 years the detainees have been both convinced and acquitted (Till then have been kept under remand) __� After keeping under detention for long periods when it comes close to acquittal and release after conclusion of the trial, the Attorney General Department has filed fresh indictments. For some persons when they are about to be released after serving the sentence fresh indictments have been filed. __� For many persons cases have been maintained based on confessions. While these confessions have been obtained by force after being subjected to torture often times signatures have been obtained for documents prepared in a language they don't know. Furthermore in this way signatures have been obtained to documents purported to be confessions after keeping in the custody of investigation divisions for periods around one and a half years. (Due to that reason it is really problematic whether those who were convicted were the real offenders). __� In the courts in the north eastern Tamil areas the case have been heard speedily while in the courts in the south even weak cases have been maintained without taking up for trail, for long periods of time. __� In the cases maintained, in the courts in north east Tamil areas, based on confessions in the "voire dire" examination due to the defective/questionable conditions in which the confession were taken the rejection of the confession has taken place. However, in the courts in southern areas the confessions have been accepted disregarding the defective questionable conditions in which the confessions were taken and most of the time convicted based on such confessions. __� The Attorney General's Department has transferred cases from north east Tamil areas to Sinhala areas when the accused are about to be granted bail or acquitted after trial. __� The courts in southern Sinhala areas have imposed maximum punishments than the courts in the north-eastern areas. Most of the time the punishments have been imposed based on the acceptance of the confession at the "voire dire" examination. __� Due to even after filing indictment in courts the cases not been taken up for trials and even if it is taken up for trial the trials being dragged on for a period as long as 15 years specially in the southern courts most of the detainees have been impelled to come to an agreement with the judiciary and the Attorney General's Department to plead guilty for a lesser offence with the amendment of the indictment, concluding the case quickly, serving the sentence and get released soon. Most of those who have been convicted up to now (like 80%) have been convicted in this manner and after release have got integrated with the society. __� While there are cases where maximum punishments have been imposed after trials there are also instances wherein similar cases lesser punishments have been given with amendment of indictments and the opportunity have been given to integrate with the society. This shows that though maximum punishments have been imposed there is a possibility to seek judgements to re-integrate them also with the society. __� While the arrests were made due to the prevailing war situation the detainees have been charged with many indictments in a number of courts in a number of districts. Most of the time all these indictments have been filed based on the same confession which is the only evidence available and while in one case the confessions gets rejected the other cases gets dragged on for many years without release of the detainee. In the same way though in one court the confession is rejected the same confession has been made use of in other courts. 6. Re-arrest __� There are persons who have been re-arrested and remanded after being released by courts. __� These persons before being arrested for the second time have been kept under detention, on Detention Orders, in investigation units for long periods of time and remanded only after doing the investigations. __� There are persons who have been re-arrested after getting integrated with the society having been referred for rehabilitation by courts and getting rehabilitated for one year. __� After re-arrest they incarcerate in remand prison for a number of year without any indictment being filed 7. Solutions offered in response to protests __� Due to protests made by detainees from time to time while the authorities have promised to release them on those occasions proposals have been made that detainees will be granted bail, will be rehabilitated and released after conducting the trials speedily. __� More over while there are occasions where it has been accepted that it is unjust to keep them in detention, there are also occasion when those acceptances have been publicly stated and also occasion when actions have been taken towards achieving that end. __� Due to the fast staged by these detainees a release have been made with a Presidential Pardon. Example: Attachment (No 30) Sivarajah Jeniven __� There is the instance when a group of close to be 40 detainees who continued to be in remand after the filing of indictments were produced in the Colombo Chief Magistrates Courts and released on bail, during the time of the fast in November, 2015 __� There are occasion when letters have been obtained from detainees inquiring about their consent for rehabilitation. __� There has been an instance when the Attorney General Department has published a list of 20 detainees for batch by batch rehabilitation consequent to a fast staged in 2016 (This has not been out into action as yet) __� Another time on the advice of the Attorney Generals Department the officers of the Legal Aid Commission have gone inside the prisons at the beginning of 2016 and have obtained the signatures of detainees stating their consent for rehabilitation (This has not been put into action as yet). Establishment of special High Courts as a solution Due to protests staged by detainees on the many occasions and the protests emerging from the society on the unjust situation in which people were detained special High Courts have been established purportedly to the solve the problems by accelerating the cases. After the controversial situation that ensued due to a fast staged by detainees in the Vavuniya Prisons in 2012 demanding that either the hearing of their cases be accelerated or else they be released while proposals were made to establish special High Courts in the Mannar Districts and the Vavuniya District in 2013 a special High Court was established in the Anuradhapura District. (In the instance of that fast 2 detainees were killed and the human rights of 17 detainees were violated by wounding them with the breaking of their limbs). In the High Court established in Anuradhapura a while around 400 cases of child abuse and raping of women are being heard the hearing of cases of political detainees are postponed for long periods deviating from the purpose for which it was established. Consequent to a fast staged by the detainees in Colombo prisons in 2016 a special High Court has been established in the No 8 High Court. Even there the trials are not conducted speedily and log trial dates with postponements extending to many months are being given. It does not seem that special ability has been created by the establishment of special High Courts to conclude the cases field under the Prevention of Terrorism Act speedily except in the usual lethargic way the Attorney Generals Department acts as the High Courts are unable to overcome the impediments posed by the Attorney General Department. Enjoying freedom for political reasons Though there is reluctance to grant freedom to these political detainees there are persons who have been released on political exigencies without going through a legal process. Karuna alias Vinayagamoorthi Muralidaran, K.P. alias Kumara Pathmanadan are special. While those who have received military training under Karuna and getting arrested and received punishment for acting on his orders, and those who are awaiting a resolution of their cases for number of years, those have received imprisonment for life sentence (example: Attachment for (No 10) Sellapillai Mahendran) are still languishing in jails Karuna alias Vinayagamoorthi Muralidaran had represented a seat in the Parliament even holding a ministerial portfolio. In addition based on political needs there are persons who have received legal redress. Among them Daya master and George master are special. Around 160 detainees who are still detained in the prisons in Sri Lanka under the Prevention of Terrorism Act have been subjected to injustices in ways as described above. Our belief is that it will become amply clear from the little bit of facts we have presented above the extent of injustice they will be subjected to by going to resolve the problems of these detainees though a legal process. The number of attachment containing the facts, we present as examples are very few in number. The violations of human rights and actions taken disregarding the law and beyond the law have been faced by the detainees under arrest during the whole of last 30 years. Likewise many detainees who are not included in our attachment have been subjected to the injustices we have enumerated. We say that at this time 7 years after the conclusion of the war to continue to act like this making use of the Prevention of Terrorism Act is a baseless act and is a great hindrance towards fostering reconciliation among the ethnic groups. As the existing situation is as aforesaid we propose that instead of going through the legal process to resolve the issue of political detainees that all detainees be freed through a political solution. (Prepared by the National Movement for the Release of Political Prisoners)

Sri Lanka Brief