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SRI LANKA: Extrajudicial killing of five youths in Vavuniya

November 6, 2007

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

6 November 2007
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UA-318-2007: SRI LANKA: Extrajudicial killing of five youths in Vavuniya

SRI LANKA: Extrajudicial killing; abduction; collapse of rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received reliable information regarding the extrajudicial killing of five youths at Thavasikkulam near Vavuniya town on 4 November 2007 in Sri Lanka.  According to witness accounts, the youths had been taken into custody by Army personnel from the Veppankulam Army Camp. The bullet-riddled corpses were found dumped on the roadside a kilometre away from the camp the following day.  After visiting the scene, the Vavuniya magistrate instructed the officer in command of the camp to make a police statement and to appear in court. He also ordered the Senior Superintendent of Police in Vavuniya to conduct speedy investigations and apprehend the perpetrators. 

CASE DETAILS:

On 4 November 2007, five dead bodies with gun shot injuries were found on the roadside at Thavasikkulam near Vavuniya town in Sri Lanka. Four of the corpses were later identified as those of Thirunavukkarusu Kapildev (25), Vigneswaran Keethigan (17), James Washington Noah (25), and Vijayakumar Vijayadas (19). The fifth body has not yet been identified.

According to witnesses, on 3 November 2007, the youths had been arrested by Army personnel and taken to the Veppankulam Army Camp around 10 am. On learning of this, their parents visited the Army Camp around noon and made inquiries. However, the camp authorities denied arresting them. As the information received had been reliable, the parents remained near the camp and kept vigil the whole day. According to them, around 10 pm they saw a white coloured van leaving the camp. About 20 minutes later they heard the sound of gunshots from the direction of Thavasikkulam. In the morning the bullet-riddled bodies of the five youths were found at Thavasikkulam -- about one kilometre from the Army camp.

Next day, after receiving information about the incident, the Vavuniya Magistrate and Additional District Judge M. Ilanchelian visited the place where the bodies were found. Relatives of the dead youths told him of what had transpired. The magistrate directed the officer in command of the Veppankulam Army Camp to make a statement to the Vavuniya Police Station and thereafter appear before the Magistrate's Court of Vavuniya the next day, 5 November. The Magistrate also directed the 21-1 Brigade Commander Col. Dhammika Jayasinghe, who is the overall commanding officer of Vavuniya town including the Veppankulam camp, and the Vavuniya Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sisira Mendis to investigate personnel of the camp and arrest the suspects -- as witness accounts of the incident pointed to the role of the Army. In a sternly worded order, the Magistrate also said the law did not permit extrajudicial killings and that it was imperative that investigations be conducted and the suspects arrested and produced in court.

The Magistrate also ordered that the van allegedly used in the incident be seized. Although the registration number of the van was provided by the relatives, sources said that the chances of finding it were slim as it was widely known that vehicles used to conduct extrajudicial arrests and killings carried false number plates.

In the recent past, Vavuniya has been notorious for abductions for ransom of wealthy businessmen and other prominent people. Moreover, the officer commanding the Veppankulam Army camp had been hauled up before the Court at least twice before, allegedly implicated in extrajudicial killings but was not charged in Court due to lack of evidence. The Sri Lankan police also failed to investigate and apprehend the suspects in any of the numerous killings in the past few years. Further, the Attorney General's Department has failed miserably to prosecute alleged offenders even in the rare instances when members of the armed forces have been taken into custody.

In a case of murder of five students of the College of Agriculture in Vavuniya last year, the Attorney General had consented to the case being transferred to a court in Anuradhapupura, much to the chagrin of the witnesses and aggrieved parties in Vavuniya. People in the area fear the latest case too might suffer a similar fate at the hands of the willful authorities. Meanwhile the Defence Ministry in its website has already apportioned blame for the latest killings on members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the authorities listed below, urging them to conduct immediate and thorough investigation into these shocking incidents of extrajudicial killings and bring those responsible to justice.

To support this appeal, please click here:

Sample letter:

Dear _________,

SRI LANKA: Extrajudicial killing of five youth in Vavuniya

Name of the victims: Thirunavukkarusu Kapildev (25), Vigneswaran Keethigan (17), James Washington Noah (25), Vijayakumar Vijayadas (19), and another not yet identified
Alleged perpetrators: Army officials attached to the Veppankulam Army Camp in Vavuniya, Sri Lanka 
Date of incident: 3 November 2007
Place where corpses were found: On the roadside at Thavasikkulam - 1km from the Veppankulam Army Camp in Vavuniya, Sri Lanka

I am appalled to learn of yet another shocking incident of extrajudicial killing - that of five young men from Vavuniya in Sri Lanka. It is disappointing that even before investigating the incident, the authorities are already blaming it on the LTTE despite witness accounts to the contrary. 

I have received information that on 4 November 2007, five dead bodies with gun shot injuries were found on the roadside at Thavasikkulam near Vavuniya town in Sri Lanka. Four of the corpses were later identified as those of Thirunavukkarusu Kapildev (25), Vigneswaran Keethigan (17), James Washington Noah (25), and Vijayakumar Vijayadas (19). The fifth body has not yet been identified.

I am informed that according to witnesses, on 3 November 2007, the youths were arrested by Army personnel and taken to the Veppankulam Army Camp around 10 am. But when their parents visited the camp around noon and asked about their sons, the camp authorities denied arresting them. But the parents remained near the camp and kept vigil the whole day. According to them, around 10 pm they saw a white van leaving the camp and 20 minutes later heard the sound of gunshots from the direction of Thavasikkulam. Next morning, the bullet-riddled bodies of the five youths were found at Thavasikkulam, about a kilometre from the Army camp.

I am also informed that thereafter the Vavuniya Magistrate and Additional District Judge M. Ilanchelian visited the place where the bodies were found and that the parents informed him of what had transpired. The Magistrate directed the officer in command of the Veppankulam Army Camp to make a statement to the Vavuniya Police Station and thereafter appear before the Magistrate's Court of Vavuniya the next day. The Magistrate had also directed the Vavuniya Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sisira Mendis to arrest the suspects. In a sternly worded order, the Magistrate also said the law did not permit extrajudicial killings and it was imperative that investigations are conducted and the suspects arrested and produced in court.

According to information received, the Magistrate also ordered the van used in the incident to be taken into custody. But relatives remained skeptical because though they had given the vehicle registration number, it is well known that vehicles used in extrajudicial arrests and killings carried false number plates.

I am informed that in the recent past Vavuniya has been plagued by abductions for ransom and extrajudicial killings. However the police have failed to investigate and apprehend the suspects in any of the incidents. Furthermore, the Attorney General's Department too has failed miserably to prosecute alleged offenders even in the rare event that members of the armed forces are taken into custody. The absence of credible investigations and prosecutions will only encourage more shocking incidents.

I therefore urge you to ensure that prompt and thorough investigations are conducted into these incidents of extrajudicial killings. The victims' families and witnesses must be included in the process of investigation and must be afforded witness protection. Those involved must be suspended from their posts and indicted expeditiously. Appropriate compensation must also be afforded to the victims' families without delay.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER TO:

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

2. Mr. Sisira Mendis
Senior Superintendent of Police
Vavuniya police station
Vavuniya Division
Tel: +94 24 222 2228
Fax: +94 25 222 2223

3. Mr. C.R. De Silva
Attorney General
Attorney General's Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 436421
Email: attorney@sri.lanka.net

4. 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

5. Secretary
Human Rights Commission
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

6. Professor Philip Alston
Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions
Room 3-016
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9155
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR EXECUTIONS)

Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-318-2007
Countries :
Issues :
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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.