Home / News / Urgent Appeals / SRI LANKA: Another abduction case by a white van without a number plate

SRI LANKA: Another abduction case by a white van without a number plate

September 26, 2006

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

26 September 2006
------------------------------------------------------
UA-317-2006: SRI LANKA: Another abduction case by a white van without a number plate

SRI LANKA: Enforced disappearance; police inaction; impunity; un-rule of law
------------------------------------------------------

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding yet another enforced disappearance from Sri Lanka in which a white coloured van without a number plate is involved. The victim is P.K. Don Dilan Pushpakumara (26), an army soldier currently under interdiction who is a resident of Ihala Kandawatte, Meegahatenna, Sri Lanka. The Kalutara police initially showed their eagerness to find the victim but soon became indifferent in the case when they learned of the involvement of the white van. A senior officer at the police headquarters in Colombo also allegedly refused to record the victim's father's complaint. Meanwhile, the victim's family believes that the victim is being held in police custody and being brutally tortured.

On the morning of 20 September 2006, Mr. P.K. Don Dilan Pushpakumara attended his case at the Kalutara High Court and then left with his father Mr. P.K. Leslie Wijegoonewardena.  They went into a nearby boutique at about 11:00am. According to the victim's father, when they were about to leave the boutique, a white coloured van without number plate - now gaining notoriety around Sri Lanka in its association with abductions and enforced disappearances- suddenly appeared nearby. One man inside the van gestured towards the victim while another man alighted from the vehicle, grabbed Mr. Pushpakumara by his shirt collar and pushed him inside the van. His father had to watch all this helplessly. 
 
After the van went away with his son, Mr. Wijegoonewardena rushed to the Kalutara police station, which was only a few hundred metres away, and reported his son's abduction. Initially, the police sprung into action and about 4 policemen including the chief inspector got into a police jeep together with Mr. Wijegoonewardena and sped in the direction the van had gone in an apparent attempt to apprehend it. Meanwhile, the policemen questioned Mr. Wijegoonewardena about the details of the abduction. Mr. Wijegoonewardena says that he gradually felt their interest in pursuing his son's abductors lessening, as if they knew something about the incident and did not want to get involved. When the police jeep reached near the Nagoda junction, one policeman remarked to the others knowingly, "This must be 'that' van". Then the police van abruptly stopped and turned back to the Kalutara police station.
 
At the police station, the police, who not so long ago seemed eager to find his son, strangely showed no interest about the incident. They also refused to record the father's complaint about the incident. The father was simply told by the police to return to the police station with his son’s mobile phone number; but only if and when he receive a message from the police. Hence the father went home but returned to the police station with a relative who worked in the Police-Special Task Force (STF). It was only on this person's insistence that Mr. Wijegoonewardena's complaint was reluctantly recorded.
 
On September 22, dissatisfied with the inaction of the Kalutara police, Mr. Wijegoonewardena visited the police headquarters in Colombo to lodge a complaint regarding his son's abduction. According to him, a senior police officer listened to all the details of the case but when he was requested to record his complaint, the police officer told him, "The point is, you do not know who abducted your son". Rather than recording the father's complaint, as was his duty, the police officer suggested the father that he would send his son's photo to the newspapers and asked him to bring eight photographs of his son.
 
According to Mr. Wijegoonewardena, he received information from a source that his son had been taken towards Colombo in the van and that he was blindfolded and incarcerated in a dark room, where he was being mercilessly tortured by his abductors. Based on his information, the father now strongly believes that the police are responsible for his son's abduction and that he is being held in the police custody. He insists that this is the reason for the police inaction into his son's case. The father also reported that several eyewitnesses including several three-wheeler drivers, who saw his son's abduction, are reluctant to come forward in fear of being subjected to retaliation by the police.
 
The inaction of the police is in direct contrast to the recent comments by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Chandra Fernando, who said on the state media that there is little the police could do if people do not complain about disappearances and abductions. However, as has been seen in this case, the police in general including senior police officers themselves discourage people from complaining about these cases.

The number of the enforced disappearances is now sharply increasing in Sri Lanka. The AHRC has already reported disappearances of 6 persons for the last 2 months (To see further details of those cases, visit: UA-310-2006, UA-305-2006 and UA-280-2006). In particular, the AHRC is gravely concerned about reappearance of the white vans without number plates, which were a symbol of terror and the disappearances in the last few years of the 1980s. If the Sri Lankan government does not effectively investigate the abduction cases in which the white vans are involved, it will never be free from the suspicion that the government itself is directly responsible for those disappearances.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the relevant authorities listed below and urge them to immediately inquire into the abduction of the victim and locate his whereabouts. Please also urge them to inquire into the Kalutara police's inaction into this case and take action against the responsible officers.

To support this appeal, please click:

Sample letter:

Dear _________,

SRI LANKA: Another abduction case by a white van without a number plate
 
Name of victim: Mr. PK Don Dilan Pushpakumara, aged 26, married with no children, the army soldier who is currently under interdiction, resides in Ihala Kandawatte, Meegahatenna, Sri Lanka
Complainant: PK Leslie Wijegoonewardena, the victim's father
Name of perpetrators: Unidentified men in a white van without a number plate and officers of the Kalutara police
Place of incident: Kalutara town near the 'Bodhiya'
Date of incident: 20 September 2006

I am deeply concerned by another enforced disappearance from Sri Lanka in which a white coloured van without number plate is involved.

According to the information I have received, Mr. PK Don Dilan Pushpakumara (26), an army soldier currently under interdiction was abducted by unidentified men in a white van without a number plate in front of a boutique nearby the Kalutara High Court at about 11:00am on 20 September 2006.

The victim's father Mr. PK Leslie Wijegoonewardena immediately reported the incident to the Kalutara police, who initially showed their eagerness to find the victim. About 4 policemen including the chief inspector got into a police jeep together with Mr. Wijegoonewardena and sped in the direction that the van had gone in an apparent attempt to apprehend the said van. However, the police turned their jeep back to the Kalutara police station as soon as they learned about the white van. At this time, one policeman allegedly remarked to the others, "This must be 'that' van".

The Kalutara police also refused to record the father's complaint, which was finally recorded only when one father's relative, who is from the Police-Special Tesk Forces, insisted the police to do so. I was also informed that when Mr. Wijegoonewardena visited police headquarters in Colombo to lodge a complaint regarding his son's abduction on September 22, a senior police officer refused to record it but simply suggested the father that he would send his son's photo to the newspapers.
 
The victim's father says that he received information from a source that his son had been taken towards Colombo in the van and mercilessly tortured by his abductors. Based on his information, the father now strongly believes that the police are responsible for his son's abduction and that he is being held in the police custody. I was also informed that several eyewitnesses of the incident are reluctant to come forward in fear of being subjected to retaliation by the police.
 
It is ironic for me that the police's inaction into this case is in direct contrast to the recent comments by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Chandra Fernando, who said on the state media that there is little the police could do if people do not complain about disappearances and abductions. I believe that the real reason for the failure of the investigation into the concerned cases rather lies to the police who discourage people from complaining those cases.

I am also particularly concerned about reappearance of white vans without number plates, which were a symbol of terror and the disappearances in the last few years of the 1980s. If the Sri Lankan government does not effectively investigate the cases of abductions and disappearances, it will never be free from the suspicion that the government itself is directly responsible for those disappearances that is now sharply increasing in Sri Lanka.

In light of the above, I strongly urge you to order an immediate and thorough investigation into the case, locate the victim's whereabouts and ensure his safe return home. If it is proven that the victim is being illegally held in police custody, he should be released immediately and those responsible for his abduction and alleged torture must be brought to justice without delay. I also urge the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka to immediately inquire into this case. I also urge the IGP to take disciplinary action against the police officers responsible for the inaction into the case. The Sri Lankan government must inquire about the alleged "white vans" that are called a "fifth force" by the people along with the police, army, navy and air force, and take all efforts to stop systemic disappearances in the country.

Yours truly,


---------------------------

SEND YOUR LETTER TO:
  
1. Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse
President
Socialist Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka
C/- Office of the President
Temple Trees
150, Galle Road
Colombo 3
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2472100 / +94 11 2446657
Email: secretary@presidentsoffice.lk

2. Mr. Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
Prime Minister
Temple Trees
Galle Road, Colombo 03
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 575317-8 or 370 737-8
Fax: +94 11 2 575454

3. Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa
Minister
Ministry of Defence, Public Security, Law and Order
15/5, Baladaksha Mawatha,
Colombo 03,
Sri Lanka.
Tel: 94-11 2 430860-9, 430878-9 or 435879 (for the secretary)
Fax: 94 11 2 446300 or 421529
E-mail: secdef@sltnet.lk

4. Mr. Mahinda Samarasinghe, MP
Minister of Disaster Management and Human Rights
Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights
383,Bauddhaloka Mawatha
Colombo 07
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 390895, 384116

5. Mr. K. C. Kamalasabesan
Attorney General
Attorney General's Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 436421
Email: attorney@sri.lanka.net

6. Mr. Chandra Fernando
Inspector General of Police
New Secretariat
Colombo 1
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 440440/327877
Email: chandralaw@police.lk

7. Secretary
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


Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)


Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-317-2006
Countries :
Issues :
Document Actions
Share |
Subscribe to our Mailing List
Follow AHRC
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.