AHRC Media Release: Australia: High Commissioner Appointee responsible for atrocities
AHRC MEDIA Release
28 June 2001
Australia: High Commissioner Appointee responsible for atrocities
Former detainee under General Perera speaks out
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is issuing today an eyewitness
account [attached] of extreme physical and psychological torture,
overcrowding and hundreds of disappearances/extrajudicial killings at an
illegal military detention camp (in Wehera, Kurunegala district, 25
miles from Kandy) run by the man being appointed Sri Lankan High
Commissioner to Australia, Major General Janaka Perera.
Tim Gill, spokesperson for AHRC, said today, "We are releasing the
harrowing account of the eyewitness not to encourage a witch-hunt of the
appointed High Commissioner, but to show the scale of the atrocities
committed in Sri Lanka between 1988 and 1992, and to call for those
responsible to be brought to justice."
In the statement, the detainee recalls the extreme overcrowding and
shackling in the cells and halls; the removal of the detainees when
humanitarian agencies came to inspect the camp; the 'disappearance' of
literally hundreds of fellow detainees; the sadistic forms of torture
used on him and on others; and the psychologically impact of having to
watch fellow detainees be tortured daily in front of you.
Mr. Gill continued, "The fact that a man associated with such heinous
crimes has risen to such a high level is not an anomaly - it is
characteristic of the systematic nature of the disappearance of up to
60,000 people, carried out by those at the highest echelons of power in
Sri Lanka. Instead of facing a court for this crime against humanity,
those responsible are promoted on the basis of their experience in
creating terror.
"Obviously such a record is sufficient for Mr. Downer to take the
extraordinary step of rejecting the appointment to High Commissioner.
The impunity Major General Perera enjoys in Sri Lanka (along with many
others involved in the disappearances) should not qualify him for
international positions. But the rejection would not make up for the
impunity, and Australia should take further steps to "
AHRC has known the eyewitness since the early 1990's and has studied the
case carefully. AHRC has also independently verified the relevant facts
related to this case. Further, the story of the detainee is completely
consistent with the details of the detention camps kept during this
period according to the official reports published by government
appointed commissions.
AHRC is also releasing today a summary [attached] of the Crime Against
Humanity constituted by the systematic disappearances between 1988 and
1992, as many outside Sri Lanka are still ignorant of this atrocity,
despite the fact that a UN Working Group rated it the 2nd highest number
of disappearances committed in the world. These disappearances were not
part of the Sinhala-Tamil conflict. Following is an extract from the
AHRC summary:
"These disappearances occurred mainly in the southern part of Sri Lanka
and the victims were largely Sinhala youth. The disappearances were not a
campaign by a hostile foreign enemy, nor were they part of a bloody
civil war or revolution. It was a campaign by a democratically elected
government [UNP] to remove an opposition. The victims need not have been
involved with insurgents; attending a meeting or a speech or even
reading a book was sufficient to be targeted for extra-judicial killing.
Many of the victims were outside the insurgency movement; some victims
were simply members of legally recognized opposition parties. Many were
just children."
- For further comment or information, contact Tim Gill in Hong Kong on
2698 6339 (office hours)
- For further documentation related to the Sri Lankan disappearances,
see the 'Human Rights Disappearances Docs Excerpts.doc' [attached] and
the collection of links at AHRC's disappearances website:
http://www.disappearances.org/articles/srilanka/articles.htm
- For more information about AHRC, see www.ahrchk.net
Appendices:
Wehera Camp testimony
Disappearances summary
MR-04-2001
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A Detainee's Reminiscences of
Wehera Detention Camp, Kurunegala, Sri Lanka
I was a detainee of Wehera Detention camp an illegal, military detention
camp from March to September 1989. The memories of the camp are very
vivid in my mind and I still suffer nightmares due to this experience.
My life was saved due to the intervention of Mr. Ossie Abeygoonesekera, a
prominent politician at the time who had earlier helped Mr. Janaka
Perera (the head of the camp at the time of my imprisonment) in his
career. Mr. Janaka Perera has recently been appointed the Sri Lankan
High Commissioner for Australia.
I was brought to the Wehera Detention camp on information provided by
some informer. I had some distant connection with JVP in 1971 and this
was the cause of the arrest, though I had no other connection
thereafter.
Wehera detention camp was well known to people of the Kurunegela
district and in fact it was quite well known in other parts of Sri Lanka
too. Detainees from the following villages and towns were brought
there: Chilaw, Galgamuwa, Tabutthegama, Giriulla, Mawathgama, Ridigama,
Polgahawela and other nearby places.
At the time I was brought to the camp there was only one detention room.
It was about 20 feet long and 10 feet wide. When I arrived there were
about 40 people there.
All the detainees were kept chained to each other all the time and only
unchained when going to the toilet.
About two hundred soldiers were there in the camps. They were separated
into several groups. There were those who went to make arrests; those
who interrogated (consisting altogether of about 50 persons who were
always in civilian clothes) and those who guarded the camp.
Every day new persons were brought. When the room was too full, new
prisoners were kept tied up in the hall outside.
Every night a few people were taken out. Their names would be called and
they had to come out. These persons did not come back. Sometimes,
detainees were told that they had been taken to Colombo, but everyone
knew they were taken out and killed. Soon we learned that dead bodies
were found in the junctions of roads and rivers.
Sometimes groups as large as 20 persons were brought from one single
village. Usually all of them were killed.
About two months after my arrival, another hall was built and small
rooms were created as cells. By then the number of detainees had
increased. In this new construction there were places for hanging people
by the arms or legs and for performing torture on the prisoners.
There were some common methods of torture. One was to tie the hands and
feet (with legs bent backwards) of a person behind their back. Then a
nylon rope was put between the legs of the person and their whole body
was pulled upwards and downwards, using a pulley system. The moving rope
on their crotch supported their entire weight.
Another method was to hang the person upside-down by the legs with a
rope and pulley system and to pull him up towards the roof and then down
again towards a fire lit on the floor. Sometimes chili powder was put
into the fire so that the person would inhale the fumes along with the
heat and smoke.
Another method was to put a polythene bag around the head of the person
and to tighten it at the neck. In this state of suffocation and with
their hands tied behind their backs, they would be pulled up and down
with ropes and then jabbed at both sides of the waist with the
torturer’s fingers.
Yet another method followed at this camp was to use some of the
detainees themselves as torturers. These were persons who turned to be
informers after being brought to the camp. One day, as a result of
assaults by these persons, one person died inside the camp itself.
Some of these things were done to me, and I saw these things done to
others every day. Seeing this being done to others while you are in the
same cell is as frightening as if it was being done to you and leaves a
tremendous fear in your mind.
During the time I was there, 400-500 persons were taken out at night and
never returned. There is no doubt they were killed and their bodies put
in various public places.
Out of the people in the camp, the cases of two persons were raised in
public inquiries. One was a person called Wasantha from Polgahawela,
about whose disappearance questions were asked in Parliament. Another
was a woman called Kumari from Mahawatte. I saw both of them at the camp
prior to their disappearance.
A few months after my arrival at the camp, all of the detainees were put
on a lorry and taken out. Several fainted, thinking that they were
being taken to their deaths. We were taken to a jungle and kept there
until nighttime and were then brought back to the camp. I learned later
that Red Cross officers had come on that day to inspect the camp.
Some detainees including myself were taken to Poonani camp (run by
police). Before being transferred, police officers took statements from
us and also took photographs of us. Thus we managed to pass from the
military custody (in Wehera) to police custody. This I know was due to
international pressure. I also learned that those who were not
transferred were killed before the Wehera Camp was closed.
If the complaints of persons made during and immediately after these
times from the places mentioned above are taken it would not be
difficult to make a list of persons who were detained at Wehera camp.
However, people have ceased to complain. It is no use. There was and is
no real inquiry. If it is possible to convince people that there would
be such an inquiry the people will come forward. I will also. And I can
think of so many others. Till then, I too must look after my own safety.
The story of the Wehera detention camp is no secret. It is very much
known publicly. The images of what people saw are bound to remain quite
vivid in everyone’s minds more so of course in the victims?families. It
is also quite well known that the head of this camp and its mastermind
throughout its existence was Mr. Janaka Perera.
It is the expertise he acquired here at this camp, which helped him to
go up higher and reached greater heights.
------------------------------------------------------------
Disappearances in Sri Lanka during the period of 1988 - 1992
It is a well documented fact supported by state-appointed commissions of
inquiry reports that there were over 26,000 disappearances (and
according to NGO estimates 60,000) in Sri Lanka between 1988 and 1992
under the United National Party (UNP)-led government. The UN Working
Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances ranked Sri Lanka as the
country with 2nd highest number of disappearances in the world (using
the figure of about 12,000 disappearances reported to the Working Group
by 1999). In 1994, the present People’s Alliance (PA) government
appointed 3 commissions of inquiry into involuntary removal or
disappearances of persons. The commissions carried out intensive
fact-finding and presented their reports to the president of Sri Lanka
in September 1997. A fourth commission, looking into the disappearances
that were not covered by the first 3 commissions, has submitted its
report but it is not yet available.
These disappearances occurred mainly in the southern part of Sri Lanka
and the victims were largely Sinhala youth. The disappearances were not a
campaign by a hostile foreign enemy, nor were they part of a bloody
civil war or revolution. It was a campaign by a democratically elected
government [UNP] to remove an opposition. The victims need not have been
involved with insurgents; attending a meeting or a speech or even
reading a book was sufficient to be targeted for extra-judicial killing.
Many of the victims were outside the insurgency movement; some victims
were simply members of legally recognized opposition parties. Many were
just children.
According to the interim reports and final reports of the
state-appointed commissions:
?a large number of persons estimates range from 26,877 to 60,000 persons
were made to disappear between 1988 and 1992;
?there were a large number of child victims approximately 15% of victims
were below the age of 19;
?these actions were planned and executed with the involvement of those
at the highest political levels;
?the entirety of the legal enforcement mechanism was utilized to carry
out these disappearances;
?there were widespread illegal detention and torture centres; and
?the purpose of the enforced disappearances were extra-judicial killing
and elimination of evidence.
All these aspects clearly prove that these disappearances constitute a
crime against humanity.
Despite the commissions?reports and various recommendations by the UN
Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, there has not
been any genuine attempt by the Sri Lankan government to bring justice
nor decent compensation to hundreds of thousands of the family members
of the disappeared. Moreover, most of the politicians and senior
officers in the police and military who are responsible for these crimes
against humanity are still at large. The law enforcement system, which
was used to carry out these disappearances has today collapsed to the
extent that there is continuous torture by the police, custodial deaths,
increasing crime with the operation of criminal gangs in Sri Lanka, and
the general public has lost its confidence in the law enforcement
system.
More information relating to disappearances in Sri Lanka are available
at the Cyberspace Graveyards for the Disappeared at
www.disappearances.org including the Final Report of the Commission of
Inquiry into the Involuntary Removal or Disappearances of Persons in the
Western, Southern and Sabaragamuwa Provinces [in Sri Lanka] (see
Reports -> Sri Lanka).
From the Sri Lankan Government’s Commission Reports
The following are extracts from the Final Report of the Commission of
Inquiry into the Involuntary Removal or Disappearances of Persons in the
Western Provinces, which may help to understand the circumstances in
which the disappearances occurred.
Explaining the meaning of ‘disappearances in the Sri Lankan context:
"Killings on the spot, termed extra-judicial killings, constitutes the
ultimate in ‘involuntary removal? Disappearance following an abduction
is in our finding only a euphemism for a killing, a reality that the
absence of recovery of the body should not be allowed to obscure."
The Secretary of the Movement for Development and Democratic Rights
(MDDR), an umbrella organisation of voluntary organisations who work in
the field of political, civil socio-economic and cultural rights, stated
in evidence: At the time terrorism came to be used as a political tool
in the North, the state’s view was that it could be brought under
control by slaughter. The resultant State Terrorism could have only
restricted operation in the North. But within the Police and Army and
even the Govt. the prevalent view was that killing was an essential
tool, and machinery to this purpose, to be put to use at any time
whatsoever, was set up by the state. This machinery was set up in a
frame-work that couldn’t be challenged via the courts. The only legal
weapon available against abduction and killings was the writ of Habeas
Corpus. If the inquests and investigations requisites under ordinary law
operated, the law would not have been reduced to this state of
helplessness. Emergency Regulation 55 permitted a burial without on
inquest EF55’s "message" to the Security Forces was that a human body
was no more than that of a dog or other animal.
_____________________________
Asian Human Rights Commission
Unit D,7 Floor,16 Argyle Street,
Mongkok Commercial Centre,
Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR
Tel: +(852)-2698-6339
Fax: +(852)-2698-6367
E-mail: ahrchk@ahrchk.org
Web: www.ahrchk.net
