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SRI LANKA: The Asian Legal Resource Center has released special report on torture in Sri Lanka

September 26, 2002

URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION
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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM
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27 September 2002
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UA-46-2002: The Asian Legal Resource Center (ALRC) has released special report on torture in Sri Lanka
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SRI LANKA: Torture by the police; Invitation to participate in anti-torture campaign in Sri Lanka
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On the occasion of the issue of a special report on torture in Sri Lanka by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a sister organisation of the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), we are issuing this urgent appeal to urge you to bring pressure on the Sri Lankan government to act decisively to stop the widespread practice of torture in the country.
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The report provides cases of torture related to criminal investigations into normal criminal offences, thus pointing to a serious problem in the criminal justice system. Thus, the report examines problems which go far beyond the scope of the peace negotiations and exposes a problem that may have a very significant impact on progress toward achieving sustainable peace in the country. This special report which, while reporting on specific cases, also analyses the systemic causes and makes recommendations for change that may also be an example for other countries beset with the same problem of how to deal with the issue.
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Suggested actions are given below.
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ALRC RELEASES SPECIAL REPORT: TORTURE BY THE POLICE IN SRI LANKA
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Because of the widespread use of torture in Sri Lanka, a practice that has become a routine part of the criminal investigation procedure in the country and accepted by the police as &quot;normal&quot; but resented by the people, the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a sister organisation of the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), is devoting the next issue of its bimonthly publication article 2 to a report about this important concern.
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The report will contain details of more than 30 torture cases that have occurred in Sri Lanka in the past four or five months and recommendations to end this habitual use of violence by those who are entrusted to uphold the law and protect the people of the country. The release of the report is timely in the context of the peace talks that have commenced between the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Sustainable peace requires restoration of law and order in all of the country.
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We are writing to inform you about the release of this report and to invite your participation in a global campaign against torture in general and in Sri Lanka in particular. We are sending you a press statement announcing the release of the report and a copy of article 2 in the pdf format. We'll also be sending you a printed copy of article 2. The publication is also be available online at &lt;http://www.article2.org/index.php&gt;.
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PRESS RELEASE
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The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) has announced the release of a special report, 'Torture by the Police in Sri Lanka,' under the auspices of its bimonthly publication article 2 (vol. 1, no. 4), in Hong Kong today, Thursday Oct. 3, 2002.
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'Torture by the Police in Sri Lanka' is the first serious attempt at recording and analysing the routine use of torture by the Sri Lanka police in day-to-day criminal investigations. It examines how a culture of barbarity has permeated policing at all levels throughout the entire country. Although in 1994 Sri Lanka made torture by a state officer a serious offence punishable by not less than a seven-year sentence, to date, no one is known to have been charged under this legislation.
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The report includes 22 detailed case studies of torture by the Sri Lankan police. It refers to a total of 31 separate incidents of torture involving 39 victims. The report also includes a commentary on the police crisis by the executive director of ALRC, Mr. Basil Fernando; two letters on torture in police stations by ALRC¡¯s sister organisation, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), to the Sri Lankan minister of interior; the full text of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Act, No. 22 of 1994; and detailed recommendations to address the crisis.
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Among the key recommendations of the report are that the government of Sri Lanka must strictly prosecute all cases of torture perpetrated by state officers and establish a special unit for immediate and adequate compensation of torture victims. It also contains extensive recommendations to the attorney general, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Sri Lankan lawyers and doctors and civil groups. UN agencies and international donor organisations have likewise been called upon to insist on measures by the government of Sri Lanka to eliminate torture and support genuine efforts to this end.
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SUGGESTED ACTIONS
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- Please send your appeals to the Prime Minister, Attorney General of Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan Embassy in your place.
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- Please deliver a copy of the report and press release to the Sri Lankan embassy or consulate in your community on Oct. 3, 2002, when the report will be officially released, and let the Sri Lankan government know of your concern regarding the prevalent practices of torture.
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- Please distribute copies of the report and press release to the media in your area, and take a personal interest by contacting the press and in creating public interest on this issue through holding, for instance, a press conference to announce the release of the report and to make your own press statements.
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- Please send your organisation's comment or small statement on the report to AHRC or ALRC.
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We appreciate very much any action you are able to take to support the dissemination of this report to put pressure on the Sri Lankan government to respond. Kindly keep us informed of any action you may take.
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If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact AHRC.
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SUGGESTED APPEAL
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Dear
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Re: Torture by the Police in Sri Lanka
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I am aware of the routine practice of torture in police stations in Sri Lanka due to many reports I have read. The latest report by the Asian Legal Resource Center (ALRC) gives me shocking details of very cruel forms of torture.
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I am writing to express my concern about the use of these primitive and barbaric practices, especially by police officers who are supposed to uphold the law and protect people's rights, not abuse them. Since there is a law to treat torture as a serious crime in Sri Lanka, it is possible to eliminate torture if the law is enforced. The continuity of torture shows that the law is not being enforced, however.
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I urge you to take effective measures to eliminate torture in Sri Lanka by ensuring proper enforcement of the law against torture, Act. 22 of 1994.
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I look forward to learning about your prompt action to this matter.
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Thank you.
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Sincerely yours,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR APPEAL TO;
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1. Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe
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Prime Minister
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Cambridge Place
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Colombo 7
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SRI LANKA
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Fax: 941 682905 or 542919 (Secretary to the PM)
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Email: secpm@sltnet.lk (Secretary to the PM) or bradmanw@slt.lk
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SALUTATION: Hon. Prime Minister
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2. Hon. Mr. K.C. Kamalasabesan
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Attorney General
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Attorney - General's Department
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Colombo 12
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SRI LANKA
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Fax: +941 436421
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Email: attorney@sri.lanka.net or counsel@sri.lanka.net
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SALUTATION: Dear Attorney General
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Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-46-2002
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.