The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Sri Lanka.
Brief description of the situation:
According to the information received, on October 12, 2008, Mr. Sarath Gunaratne, Member of Parliament from Negombo and Deputy Minister of Ports and Aviation, called Fr. Sarath Iddamalgoda and accused him of distributing materials against the Government and the Armed Forces and asked him to stop doing this activity in the Negombo area. The Deputy Minister claimed that Fr. Iddamalgoda and "his group" were misleading innocent people and that they should not do conduct such campaigns without consulting him. A Sri Lankan Sinhalese newspaper later reported the Deputy Minister’s words.
Fr. Iddamalgoda is a founding member of CSM and a prominent leader of CSM current campaign regarding the humanitarian situation in the Vanni region. He is also the leader of the Forum for Life, a coalition of civil society groups, and a well known human rights defender in Sri Lanka, who has been involved in struggles in favour of the rights of farmers, fishermen and free trade zone workers for decades and has also been an outspoken critique of the war[1].
Furthermore, on October 13, 2008, Mr. Sarath Gunaratne, speaking at a public meeting in Negombo, condemned again the CSM’s campaign, and also made specific reference to Fr. Iddamalgoda. Mr. Gunaratne made an implicit threat by saying that this matter had been brought to the notice of the Presidential Advisor and member of Parliament Mr. Basil Rajapakse, brother of the President and Defence Secretary. Mr. Gunaratne also mentioned that he had brought this to the notice of Church authorities. Mr. Gunaratne then called on CSM to stop its campaign and threatened that Catholic priests would no longer be respected as religious leaders if they continued to be involved in such campaigns.
On the same day, the State owned and controlled TV Channel Independent Television Network (ITN) carried this news at 7 pm, giving prominence to the speech of Mr. Gunaratne. CSM members also came to know that two other state TV channels, Rupavahini and Eye TV, also broadcast Mr. Gunaratne’s speech on that same day. ITN also used the section "Vimasuma" of the 7 pm news to condemn the CSM campaign during the news telecast on October 16, 2008. The web page of ITN also featured this news items and video clips. None of the channels undertook to give CSM side of the story nor did they contact any CSM member for comments, despite the fact that the leaflet carried several telephone numbers and emails of CSM leaders.
The Observatory strongly condemns these threats and acts of harassment against Fr. Sarath Iddamalgoda and the Christian Solidarity Movement, and believes they are aimed at preventing them from carrying out their human rights activities, and in particular the CSM ongoing campaign to raise the awareness on the abuses faced by people affected by ongoing military operations, particularly the lack of safety suffered by civilians and the lack of essential items and services such as food, medicine, shelter. The Observatory also sees this as an attempt by the Government to stop CSM (and also other groups) efforts to collect assistance from the general public to be sent to the displaced and other civilians affected by the ongoing military operations.
Furthermore, these threats come in the context of the recent questioning of four human rights groups in July 2008, by the Colombo Crime Division (a special police unit), over a leaflet distributed on December 10, 2007 - the International Human Rights Day. A CSM leader who is active in the present campaign was amongst those interrogated on that incident.
Background information:
Hundreds of thousands of people have been and are still being displaced in the Northern region of Sri Lanka, particularly the Vanni region where fighting is going on between Government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Enforced disappearances, abductions and killings are also reported regularly in the North, particularly in Mannar, Vavuniya and Jaffna districts, bordering the Vanni region where fighting is going on. The Government has placed restrictions on human rights defenders, independent media personnel, and aid workers, in particular foreign nationals, travelling to the area and there are also restrictions on communication. In this context, apart from Government media and websites believed to be aligned with the LTTE, there are very few independent reports made available for the general public on the actual situation prevailing in this area, particularly the situation of civilians.
It is in this context that in the last few months, CSM members have undertaken regular field visits to the northern region of the country in order to assess the situation of civilians. CSM members have also been regularly meeting church leaders who visit and come from the Vanni, a region controlled by the LTTE and where battles between the LTTE and Sri Lankan Government forces are ongoing.
Throughout this process, CSM has sought to document the human rights and humanitarian crisis in the Vanni region, highlighting the abuses and suffering faced by civilians, particularly displaced people. A background paper was prepared and disseminated amongst the general public, the diplomatic community in Sri Lanka, UN agencies and civil society groups. This report was also quoted in several local Sunday newspapers and in a report files of the Inter Press Service (IPS). CSM members also met the Representative of the Secretary General on Human Rights of IDPs during the Representative’s visit to Sri Lanka in September 2008.
CSM also prepared urgent appeals in English, Sinhalese and Tamil languages on the above situation and distributed them in churches and public places around Colombo. CSM members also disseminated in the South of the country, testimonies of church leaders serving in the frontlines of war in the North. CSM members have also come forward to share their own experiences of the situation in the North in several churches and public places around Colombo. The urgent appeals and leaflets were distributed in churches and in some public places. Contributions made by individuals for the well-being of displaced people were also collected by CSM to meet the needs of people in Vanni via Church leaders of the North.
In July 2008, CSM also organised an Ecumenical Prayer Service at St. Philip Neri’s church, in Colombo, commemorating the 25th anniversary of "Black July", a tragic event in 1983 that led to hundreds of ethnic Tamil minorities being murdered and their property destroyed in Colombo and other parts of Sri Lanka. Explosives jackets and other types of explosives were found in the church, the entrance to which is open to the public without any security check.
Fr. Sarath Iddamalgoda has been a key leader of CSM in all above initiatives.
Actions requested:
Please write to the authorities of Sri Lanka asking them to:
i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Fr. Sarath Iddamalgoda, of all CSM members as well as of all Sri Lankan human rights defenders;
ii. Put an end to all acts of harassment against human rights defenders and humanitarian workers in Sri Lanka;
iii. Conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, especially its Article 1, which states that "everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels", and Article 12.2, which provides that "the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration";
iv. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.
Addresses:
· Mr. W. Dayaratne, President, Bar Association of Sri Lanka, 129 Hulftsdorp Street, Colombo 12, Sri Lanka. Fax: +94 11 2 44 80 90, E-mail: wdaya@slt.lk
· President Mahinda Rajapakse, Presidential Secretariat, Colombo 1, Sri Lanka, Fax: + 94 11 2446657 / +94 11 2472100.
· Mr. Amarasiri Dodangoda, Minister of Justice and Law Reforms, Ministry of Justice and Law Reforms, Superior Courts Complex, Colombo 12, Sri Lanka. Fax: +94 11 2445447.
· Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Secretary, Ministry of Defence, 15/5 Baladaksha Mawatha, Colombo 3, Sri Lanka, Fax: +94 11 2446 300 / +94 11 2541 529
· Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, No. 36, Kynsey Road, Colombo 8, Sri Lanka. Tel: +94 11 2 694 925 / 673 806. Fax: +94 11 2 694 924 / 696 470. E-mail: sechrc@sltnet.lk
· Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in Sri Lanka, 56 rue De Moillebeau, 5th Floor, 12119 Geneva 19, Switzerland, Fax: + 41-22 734 90 84, E-mail: mission.srilanka@ties.itu.int
· Embassy of Sri Lanka in Brussels, 27 rue Jules Lejeune, 1050 Ixelles, Belgium. Tel: + 32 2 344 53 94/ + 32 2 344 55 85. Fax : + 32 2 344 67 37. Email : sri.lanka@euronet.be
Please also write to the diplomatic mission or embassy of Sri Lanka in your respective country as well as to the EU diplomatic missions or embassies in Sri Lanka.
***
Geneva - Paris, October 17, 2008
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need. The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.
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