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SRI LANKA: Perpetrators of brutal attack on student leader of Jaffna University have not been arrested

October 19, 2011

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION-URGENT APPEAL PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-211-2011



19 October 2011
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SRI LANKA: Perpetrators of brutal attack on student leader of Jaffna University have not been arrested

ISSUES: Extrajudicial killing attempt; denied investigation and justice; impunity; rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that Mr. Subramaniam Thavapalasingham, President of the Jaffna University Students Union (JUSU) was severely assaulted by members of an unknown group in Jaffna on 16 October 2011. Thavapalasingham was seriously injured, and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of the Jaffna Teaching Hospital. Thavapalasingham is a widely known civil rights activist who has spoken out against the oppression faced by residents of the Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka which are under heavy military control. None of Sri Lanka’s law enforcement agencies have begun a transparent investigation into the incident. The fate of a civil rights activist is in danger. Thavapalasingham’s relatives and the rest of Sri Lankan civil society are waiting for the perpetrator to be caught and justice to be appropriately dealt. This case is yet another illustration of the exceptional collapse of the rule of law in the country.

CASE NARRATIVE:

According to information that the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received, Mr. Subramaniam Thavapalasingham, President of the Jaffna University Students Union (JUSU) was severely assaulted by members of an unknown group in Jaffna on 16 October 2011.

AHRC-UAC-211-2011-01.jpgThavapalasingham (24) is a permanent resident of Puthoor of Mullaiththeevu,in Vanni District. He is also a student of the Art faculty at the University of Jaffna. In 2010, Thavapalansingham was elected to the position of President of the Student Union of the Art Faculty. Later, he was elected President of the Jaffna University Students Union (JUSU) by the student representatives of each faculty of the university.

However, he was not formally accepted by the university administration. It was said that certain political parties and armed groups did not want Thavapalasingham, a civil rights activist, to be President of the JUSU Thavapalasingham was popular among his fellow students and well-known for his political views. He spoke openly about the rights of citizens in Sri Lanka’s Northern and Eastern provinces, which are under military control, particularly about the citizens in the North who have to contend with a heavy military presence despite the fact that there is no armed conflict in the area. He openly discussed the disturbance to these residents and the constant atmosphere of fear they felt, particularly after the reported stories of ‘Grease Devils’ in Jaffna. The residents of the area believe military intelligence officers are responsible for these incidents.

On 16 October 2011, Subramaniam Thavapalasingham (24) went to a meeting held at the residence of a parliamentarian on Kandarmadama Street in Jaffna. After the meeting, he was followed by eight people on motorbikes who were in the possession of sharp iron rods and beat him severely on his head. As he was being assaulted, his assailants said: "do you dare to ask for a separate homeland?"

Thavapalasingham was severely injured and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of Jaffna Teaching Hospital for treatment.

Considering the severity of his injuries and the weapons used for the attack it is clear that the intention of the attackers was to kill the student leader. As such, the Asian Human Rights Commission considers this to be an attempt to extrajudicially kill a civil rights activist and student leader.

Thavapalasingham believes that the attack was well organized and planned for political reasons because of his civil rights work. He believes that military intelligence officers are responsible for the attacks.

None of Sri Lanka’s law enforcement agencies have begun an efficient and transparent investigation into the incident. Thavapalasingham is being denied justice. The AHRC has observed this attack as one of a series of attacks that have happened over the past few months.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

A Press Release from Networking for Rights has expressed shock over the attack on Subramaniam Thevapalasingham,

"Harassment and intimidation of civilians has become a way of life in Sri Lanka, and in the past several years the numbers of incidents have escalated in all parts of the country. It is the right of all civilians to mobilize and participate in peaceful protests; that is the hallmark of a truly democratic country.

However, the opposite is true in Sri Lanka, where any attempt by civilians to voice their concerns, or the media to raise any issue is met with some form of brutality. It is an indication of an administration which resorts to undemocratic methods to suppress freedom of expression and dissent and enables other unruly elements to take the law into their own hands.

Merely conducting elections does not ensure democracy; rather it is the respect for the rule of law and rights of citizens to voice their concerns that make a true democracy.

Networking for Rights reiterates its call that while civilians are protected and their right to dissent is upheld, that a genuine and speedy inquiry is held into Thavapalasighams assault and the culprits brought to book".

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter to the authorities listed below expressing your concern about this case and requesting an immediate investigation into the allegations of assault against the student leader by the unidentified gang, and the prosecution of those proven to be responsible under the criminal law of the country.

Please note that the AHRC has also written a separate letter to the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment on this regard.

To support this appeal please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear ________,

SRI LANKA: Still no arrest on the brutal attack against the student leader in Jaffna University

Name of the victim: Mr. Subramaniam Thavapalasingham (24) a permanent resident of Puthoor of Mullaiththeevu, in Vanni District
Alleged perpetrator: Unidentified gang
Date of incident: 16 October 2011
Place of incident: In Jaffna

I am writing to express my serious concern over the case of Mr. Subramaniam Thavapalasingham, President of the Jaffna University Students Union (JUSU) who was severely assaulted by members of an unknown group in Jaffna on 16 October 2011.

Thavapalasingham (24) is a permanent resident of Puthoor of Mullaiththeevu,in Vanni District. He is also a student of the Art faculty at the University of Jaffna. In 2010, Thavapalansingham was elected to the position of President of the Student Union of the Art Faculty. Later, he was elected President of the Jaffna University Students Union (JUSU) by the student representatives of each faculty of the university.

However, he was not formally accepted by the university administration. It was said that certain political parties and armed groups did not want Thavapalasingham, a civil rights activist, to be President of the JUSU Thavapalasingham was popular among his fellow students and well-known for his political views. He spoke openly about the rights of citizens in Sri Lanka’s Northern and Eastern provinces, which are under military control, particularly about the citizens in the North who have to contend with a heavy military presence despite the fact that there is no armed conflict in the area. He openly discussed the disturbance to these residents and the constant atmosphere of fear they felt, particularly after the reported stories of ‘Grease Devils’ in Jaffna. The residents of the area believe military intelligence officers are responsible for these incidents.

On 16 October 2011, Subramaniam Thavapalasingham (24) went to a meeting held at the residence of a parliamentarian on Kandarmadama Street in Jaffna. After the meeting, he was followed by eight people on motorbikes who were in the possession of sharp iron rods and beat him severely on his head. As he was being assaulted, his assailants said: "do you dare to ask for a separate homeland?"

Thavapalasingham was severely injured and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of Jaffna Teaching Hospital for treatment.

Considering the severity of his injuries and the weapons used for the attack it is clear that the intention of the attackers was to kill the student leader. As such, the Asian Human Rights Commission considers this to be an attempt to extrajudicially kill a civil rights activist and student leade.

Thavapalasingham believes that the attack was well organized and planned for political reasons because of his civil rights work. He believes that military intelligence officers are responsible for the attacks.

None of Sri Lanka’s law enforcement agencies have begun an efficient and transparent investigation into the incident. Thavapalasingham is being denied justice. The AHRC has observed this attack as one of a series of attacks that have happened over the past few months.

I request your urgent intervention to ensure that the authorities listed below instigate an immediate investigation into the allegations of assault against the student leader by the unidentified perpetrators, and the prosecution of those proven to be responsible under the criminal law of the country.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Mr. N K Illangakoon
Inspector General of Police
New Secretariat
Colombo 1
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 440440 / 327877
E-mail: igp@police.lk

2. Mr. Eva Wanasundara
Attorney General
Attorney General's Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 436421
E-mail: ag@attorneygeneral.gov.lk

3. Secretary
National Police Commission
3rd Floor, Rotunda Towers
109 Galle Road
Colombo 03
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 395310
Fax: +94 11 2 395867
E-mail: npcgen@sltnet.lk or polcom@sltnet.lk

4. Secretary
Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission
No. 108
Barnes Place
Colombo 07
SRI LANKA
Tel: +9411 2694925, +9411 2685980, +9411 2685981
Fax: +9411 2694924 (General) +94112696470 (Chairman)
E-mail: sechrc@sltnet.lk


Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-211-2011
Countries :
Issues :
Aksi-aksi Dokumen
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.