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UPDATE (Sri lanka): Vavuniya police allegedly attacked a family member of torture victim

November 30, 2007

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

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Update on Urgent Appeal

30 November 2007

[RE: UA-183-2007: SRI LANKA: Alleged illegal detention and torture of two men by police]
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UP-161-2007: SRI LANKA: Vavuniya police allegedly attacked a family member of torture victim

SRI LANKA: Police assault; torture victim
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the alleged attack on a student on 10 October 2007. He is the brother of a torture victim who was earlier tortured by the Vavuniya police (See further: UA-183-2007). His brother, the torture victim, has stayed in another place for security reasons. He is scheduled to come before the court on 30 November 2007.

CASE DETAILS: (Based on testimony from the victim's mother)
 
Nuwantha Shiran Dias, 16 years old, is a year 9 student of the Gamini Maha Vidiyalaya, Vavuniaya. He is a younger brother of Ruwantha Chrishantha Dias whom the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) from Vavuniya police station tortured after arrest on 22 May 2007 (See further: UA-183-2007).

On 10 October 2007, Nuwantha Dias was riding a bicycle in the Vavuniya main road to bring lunch for his father. Suddenly a police motor cycle (No. M.L. 9326) came and hit his bicycle. The rider was identified as Police Constable (PC) Tennakoon 47472 from Vavuniya police station. After the incident the police constable offered no assistance to Nuwantha Dias and instead left the scene.

Due to this incident his right leg was broken and he remained waiting on the road until his mother came and took him to the Vavuniya hospital. Then, he was transferred to the Anuradapura hospital for an operation on October 12.

Nuwantha's mother made a complaint to the police station on 20 October 2007 (Case No. B 1257/07). To date, no investigation has reportedly been conducted into this case. In the meantime, the court date for his brother's case is dated on 30 November 2007.

Even though there is no clear evidence of connection between the police attack to Nuwantha Dias and the case which his brother, Ruwantha Chrishantha Dias has brought, concerns have been raised that the police attacked Nuwantha Dias in order to prevent the family members from continuing to hold the torture case before the court.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the relevant authorities listed below and urge them to thoroughly investigate this case without delay. Please also urge them to take immediate action against those responsible. Compensation has to provide to the victim. The AHRC is also writing separate letter to the United Nations Special Rapportuer on the Question of Torture for his intervention in this case.

To support this appeal, please click here:

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Suggested letter:

Dear __________,

SRI LANKA: Vavuniya police allegedly attacked a family member of torture victim

Name of victim: Nuwantha Shiran Dias (16), year 9 student of the Gamini Maha Vidiyalaya, Vavuniaya, resident of No. 122, Tekkawatte, Vavuniya
Name of alleged perpetrator: P. C.Tennakoon (47472), Vavuniya, Vavuniya Division, Wanni Range
Date of incident: 10 October 2007
Place of Incident: In the main road of Vavuniya

I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the alleged attack on family member of torture victim by Vavuniya police on 10 October 2007.

I am informed that Nuwantha Shiran Dias is 16-year-old student and a younger brother of Ruwantha Chrishantha Dias whom Special Investigation Unit (SIU) from Vavuniya police station had tortured after arrest on 22 May 2007.

According to the information received, Nuwantha Dias was riding a bicycle in the Vavuniya main road to bring a lunch for his father. Suddenly a police motor cycle (No. M.L. 9326) came and hit his bicycle on 10 October 2007. It was identified as Police Constable (PC) Tennakoon 47472 from Vavuniya police station. After the incident however, the police constable did not take Nuwantha Dias to a hospital for medical check up and escaped from the scene. Due to this attack, his right leg was broken and left on the road until his mother came and took him to the Vavuniya hospital. Then, he was transferred to the Anuradapura hospital for an operation on October 12.

Nuwantha's mother made a complaint to the police station on 20 October 2007 (Case No. B 1257/07). To date, no investigation has reportedly been conducted into this case. In the mean time, the court is dated on 30 November 2007.

According to the information received, his family members doubted that this police attacked to the family member in order to impede the family members to continue the torture case of Ruwantha Chrishantha Dias before the court.

In light of the above, I urge you to conduct impartial investigation into this case without delay and to take legal or disciplinary action against the responsible. I also urge you to provide adequate and proper compensation for physical and physical consequences he has to suffer. I further urge you to ensure that the family members be protected from any further threats or harms.

I earnestly look forward to your prompt action into this matter.

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

3. 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

4. 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

Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-161-2007
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.