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UPDATE (SRI LANKA): Case of torture of Angelina Roshana, No Action Under Act. No 22 of 1994

February 15, 2002

UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

15 February 2002
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UP-05-2002 (RE: UA-42-2001: Angeline Roshana case - AG fails to prosecute one year after police torture)

UPDATE (SRI LANKA): Case of torture of Angelina Roshana, No Action Under Act. No 22 of 1994
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Dear Friends,

We have written several updates on Angelina Roshana’s case. We are also aware that many persons have written to the Sri Lankan authorities on this matter, however the Attorney General has not yet taken any action. We urge readers to again write to the authorities on Ms. Roshana’s behalf. The most recent letter by the Asian Human Rights Commission is below. We draw attention especially to the following paragraphs:

"The defendant has invoked the names of powerful persons to support his case. According to the alleged perpetrator’s affidavit filed before the Supreme Court, he claims to be a friend of Mr. Eardly Perera P.C. He further states that the virtual complainant in the initial complaint that led to torture is the daughter of one of the President’s counsel. I believe that you will not be influenced by powerful interests and deny justice to a poor citizen, a young Tamil girl."

"We are disturbed to learn that one Mrs. Vivika Siriwardene de Silva, a state counsel, also appeared for the first respondent (the alleged perpetrator) on 14 February, when the Fundamental Rights application came before the Supreme Court. On an earlier occasion the Supreme Court was informed by the alleged perpetrator that the Department of the Attorney General would not assist him in this case as the matter was one of torture, and he produced a letter from the Department of the Attorney General to that effect. It is not clear as to how this earlier decision intimated to the highest court in the country appears to have been reversed."

Your pressure may make a difference, given the circumstances mentioned above.


AHRC LETTER OF 15 FEBRUARY

15 Februrary 2002

Hon. Mr. K.C. Kamalasabesan
Attorney General
Department of the Attorney General
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA

Fax: +941 436 421


Dear Attorney General,

Re: Case of torture of Angelina Roshana - No Action Under Act. No 22 of 1994

We have brought to your notice several times that no case under Act. No 22 of 1994 has been filed against the accused torturer of Angelina Roshana, despite strong medical and other evidence. This is a denial of rights of the victim, particularly her right to be treated equally before the law.

The defendant has invoked the names of powerful persons to support his case. According to the alleged perpetrator’s affidavit filed before the Supreme Court, he claims to be a friend of Mr. Eardly Perera P.C. He further states that the virtual complainant in the initial complaint that led to torture is the daughter of one of the President’s counsel. I believe that you will not be influenced by powerful interests and deny justice to a poor citizen, a young Tamil girl.

We are disturbed to learn that one Mrs. Vivika Siriwardene de Silva, a state counsel, also appeared for the first respondent (the alleged perpetrator) on 14 February, when the Fundamental Rights application came before the Supreme Court. On an earlier occasion the Supreme Court was informed by the alleged perpetrator that the Department of the Attorney General would not assist him in this case as the matter was one of torture, and he produced a letter from the Department of the Attorney General to that effect. It is not clear as to how this earlier decision intimated to the highest court in the country appears to have been reversed.

We once again appeal to you on behalf of the victim and request you to grant her the redress available to her in law by filing criminal action against the perpetrator.

We hope it will not be necessary to raise the matter in the forthcoming United Nations Human Rights Commission sessions in March-April of this year.

Sincerely yours,

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-05-2002
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.