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SRI LANKA: The Katugastota massacre of 12 persons in election period

December 7, 2001

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION <br>
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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM <br>
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7 December 2001 <br>
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UA-40-2001: The Katugastota massacre of 12 persons in election period <br>
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SRI LANKA: Denial of right to vote resulted in mass deaths <br>
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Consequent to the dissolution of the Parliament the previous month, the elections were held on the December 5, 2001 to elect the peoples' representatives of the parliament in Sri Lanka. While the elections were marred by unprecedented violence, intimidation, reports of vote rigging and stuffing of the ballot boxes, there were also a number of murders. <br>
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Among the crimes committed during this election period, the event that took place on the evening of the voting day, the 5th of December is of serious significance. <br>
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According the reports reaching us, the supporters of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) were escorting the election officials who were transporting a ballot box around 5:30 in the afternoon, form the Madawala polling station in the Katugastota electorate to the counting centre in the vicinity of Kandy. On their way, the suspects - alleged supporters of the Peoples' Allilance' (PA) Deputy Defence Minister, had given chase to the vehicle of the SLMC supporters causing the van to crash into a lamppost. The suspects had then come to the van, opened the doors and shot the supporters at point blank and fled after leaving some grenades. The death toll from this attack stands at 12. All the victims of this massacre happened to be the members of Muslim faith. <br>
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AHRC wrote letter to the National Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka to investigate this massacre. The letter sent by AHRC to NHRI is reproduced below. You may make letter to request inquiry. See the suggested letter at the bottom. <br>
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Dear Sir, <br>
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RE: THE KATUGASTOTA MASSACRE OF 12 MUSLIMS ON DECEMBER 5 <br>
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You are aware of the massacre of 12 Muslims at Pahalathalawinna in the Katugastota electorate. These deaths were cold-blooded killing by shooting at unarmed passengers traveling in a van. They all happened to be of Muslim faith. <br>
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This being a massacre, it is the obligation of the National Human Rights Commission to investigate the matter independently. Your commission did this at least partially in the case of Bindunuwewa massacre. <br>
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As you are well aware, the suspects are said to be the supporters of one political party therefore it will be quite likely that pressure might be brought to investigation into this massacre. This makes your interventions even more necessary, so those perpetrators may not be shielded from the law due to lack of evidence, as it happens so often in Sri Lanka. We urge you also to monitor on how the police investigates this case and what actions the Attorney General, who is the chief prosecutors in the country, will take to prosecute the offenders. <br>
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Furthermore, we request you to excise your powers under the National Human Rights Commission Law to advice the government to make legislation on Crimes against humanity. These massacre both at Bindunuwewa and Katugastota will fall within the category of crimes against humanity. The definition of these crimes is already available in the Rome Statute on International Criminal Court. The relevant portion is as follows; <br>
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Article 7 <br>
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Crimes against humanity <br>
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1. For the purpose of this Statute, \&quot;crime against humanity\&quot; means any of the following acts when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack. <br>
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a) Murder; <br>
b) Extermination; <br>
c) Enslavement; <br>
d) Deportation or forcible transfer of population; <br>
e) Imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law; <br>
f) Torture; <br>
g) Rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity; <br>
h) Persecution against any identifiable group or collectivity on political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender as defined in paragraph 3, or other grounds that are universally recognized as impermissible under international law, in connection with any act referred to in this paragraph or any crime within the jurisdiction of the Court; <br>
i)Enforced disappearance of persons; <br>
j) The crime of apartheid; <br>
k) Other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health. <br>
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We urge you to act urgently on this matter. <br>
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Thank you. <br>
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Sincerely yours, <br>
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ACTION REQUESTED <br>
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Please send your letter urgently to the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka to investigate this massacre by fax or email. <br>
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SUGGESTED LETTER <br>
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Dear Sir. <br>
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Re: The Katugastota Massacre of 12 Persons on December 5, 2001 <br>
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I am shocked and saddened to hear about this massacre. The least that can now be done is to inquire into these deaths and bring culprits to Justice. Given the experience of what happened to inquiries into Bidunuwewa massacre it is only natural to have doubts as whether such inquiries will take place. <br>
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Therefore, I urge you to exercise the authority of the National Human Rights Commission to cause a proper inquiry into the matter. I also request you to contact the families of the victims and ensure their safely and welfare. <br>
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Thank you. <br>
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Sincerely yours, <br>
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SEND LETTERS TO: <br>
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The Chairperson <br>
National Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka <br>
No. 50, Dr. N.M. Perera Mawatha <br>
Borella, Colombo 8 <br>
SRI LANKA <br>
Fax: +941 696-470 <br>
Email: sechre@sltnet.lk <br>
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SEND A COPY OF YOUR LETTER TO: <br>
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Mr. B.L.V. Kodituwakku <br>
Inspector General of Police <br>
New Secretariat <br>
Colombo 1, <br>
SRI LANKA <br>
Fax: +941 446-174

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-40-2001
Countries :
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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.