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UPDATE (Sri Lanka): Case of Chamila Bandara; the issue of the Kandy Coordinator and the rights of the people in Kandy for human rights protection

October 12, 2004

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

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

Update on Urgent Appeal
13 October 2004

(RE: UA-39-2003: Torture of 17-year-old boy on 11 August 2003; UP-31-2003: Update on torture of 17-year-old boy, Chamila Bandara, by Ankumbura police on 20 August 2003; UP-38-2003: The security of the torture victim and his mother is severely threatened by the perpetrators on 25 September 2003; UP-39-2004: No action by the Attorney General to prosecute the torture perpetrators of Chamila Bandara's case on 21 July 2004)
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UP-57-2004: SRI LANKA:  Case of Chamila Bandara; the issue of the Kandy Coordinator and the rights of the people in Kandy for human rights protection

SRI LANKA: Impunity; Rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) refers you back to the case of Chamila Bandara, a young boy who suffered from serious injuries due to being hung and beaten at the Ankumbura Police Station from 20 to 28 July 2003.

After the failed attempt by the Kandy Coordinator of the Human Rights Commission (HRC) of Sri Lanka to exonerate the accused police officers, the HRC appointed two committees under much publicity, one to inquire into an allegation of torture and another to investigate the conduct of the Kandy Coordinator. The first inquiry found that Chamila's complaint was true. The other found that the HRC officer had failed to conduct a proper inquiry. It was further held this senior officer in charge of an entire province did not have the competence and training to conduct such inquiries and that he should be removed from his post. The Chairperson of the HRC announced these findings publicly. However, no further action was taken.

The AHRC has written today to HRC on this matter, while there are rumors that this Kandy Coordinator is going to be made permanent. You can find more information in the letter to the HRC attached below. The AHRC calls for your urgent intervention into this matter. Please send a letter to the HRC requesting the removal of Kandy Coordinator from his position.

To see the AHRC's previous urgent appeals regarding this case, please visit:
[UA-39-2003: Torture of 17-year-old boy
UP-31-2003: Update on torture of 17-year-old boy, Chamila Bandara, by Ankumbura police
UP-38-2003: The security of the torture victim and his mother is severely threatened by the perpetrators
UP-39-2004: No action by the Attorney General to prosecute the torture perpetrators of Chamila Bandara's case]

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission
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[The letter to the chairperson of the HRC sent by the executive director of the AHRC]

13 October 2004

Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy
Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka
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

Dear Dr. Coomaraswamy,

Re: The Issue of the Kandy Coordinator and the Rights of the People in Kandy for Human Rights Protection

We refer to our correspondence regarding this matter and also refer particularly to a statement made by yourself as the Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRC) on August 20 at a consultation held jointly by the Law Society and Trust, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) at the Pegasus Reef Hotel at Hendala, Sri Lanka.  In your statement, in answer to a question about what action had been taken against Mr. Sumanasekara, the Coordinator of the Human Rights Commission office in Kandy, you stated that a one-member committee of inquiry had held two separate inquiries, one into the case of torture of Chamila Bandara and another into the conduct of the Kandy Coordinator who submitted a report to the HRC stating that Chamila Bandara's allegations were false. This was in turn used by the Sri Lankan delegation to the UN Human Rights Committee in October 2003.

As for the first inquiry, the one-man inquiring committee came to the conclusion that the allegations of Chamila Bandara were true and that the police officers of the Amkumbura Police had in fact violated his rights in relation to Articles 11, 12(1), 13(1) and 13(2).  The proven allegations were of an extremely serious nature both from the point of view of the serious injuries caused by the torture to Chamila Bandara who was a minor at the time and also due to over seven days of detention at the police station. The attempt by the police to falsify the matter by way of tampering with documents, giving false affidavits and the like only made the situation worse.

Regarding the second inquiry also, the Kandy coordinator of the HRC was found guilty and the inquiring officer's view was that this senior officer, who has held a prominent position as the chief of the office dealing with the entire Kandy province, was not in fact properly trained to carry out an inquiry. You announced that he would be removed from the Kandy office and would be brought to Colombo for training. Given the gravity of the violations that the Kandy coordinator, a human rights officer, has inflicted on a human rights victim, the proposed punishment was in fact rather mild if not hypocritical. Earlier serious allegations had also been made against this coordinator, like the missing 15 files which were purported to have been sent to the Colombo office of the HRC but had in fact not been sent as was discovered and reported by Mr. Igbal, who was acting as an official inquirer into the manner in which torture inquiries have been carried out by the HRC. In the absence of an explanation from the coordinator of the Kandy office it is a fair conclusion that these files were in fact destroyed by the coordinator in order to assist the perpetrators of human rights violations. The allegation of close collaboration of the Kandy coordinator with police officers who have allegedly committed human rights violations is a very common one and can easily be verified by the number of successful investigations into complaints of torture and other violations of human rights made by residents of the Kandy province. Examination of statistics will reveal the colossal failure on the part of this office for several years and the responsibility for this failure must be born by the HRC of Sri Lanka.

Despite the announcement you made on August 20, the coordinator of the Kandy office is still the head of the same office. Many observers have reported to us that he is refusing to leave and that many allegations are traded among different human rights officers now who try to blame each other for grave abuses. We are also aware that this particular officer was found to not have even the basic educational qualifications necessary for any responsible public office.  The result of this state of affairs is that the people of an entire province are deprived of the protection that the HRC was created to provide. Meanwhile, extremely harsh human rights violations are being reported from the Kandy province.  These include the second torture of Saman Priyankara who life was saved only due to the timely intervention of several human rights activists at whose requests the office of the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG, Legal), took quick action. Samantha Priyankara was able to escape with only permanent ear damage due to this intervention.

As you are well aware, the name of Radhika Coomaraswamy has been used by some Sri Lankan officials at international forums. For example, Sri Lanka's Permanent Mission to the UN as a demonstration that the human rights of the people are being well taken care of by the HRC of Sri Lanka.  Thus your name is unfortunately being used to cover up a façade in which internal collaboration with perpetrators by some officers and failure to take effective disciplinary action keeps the people trapped in gross human rights abuses.  It is even more unfortunate that while some government agencies such as the Attorney General's Department and the National Police Commission in the recent months have made some attempts to end impunity and take some serious action against state officers who violate human rights, the HRC cannot make any such claim.

The beautiful phrase ‘zero tolerance of torture,' remains just words. Unlike the ‘open sesame' of mythology, these words do not have magical powers. They depend on implementation and implementation depends on implementers. So long as persons such as the Kandy coordinator remain the chief implementers for any province, these beautiful words will only sound comical to the local population who know the actual state of things. All that the Sri Lankan embassies presenting reports to international bodies will have to rely on is your good name. If a human rights officer can claim immunity for gross abuses of people's rights, how will anyone take seriously the HRC's claims to end impunity?

When we made a representation at an earlier stage regarding such impunity, the HRC said that there should be due process and that it needed time. Is all that is happening to his particular case the type of due process we can expect from the HRC?

Initially when the new commissioners are appointed there were expectations that they would make some difference. Concerned people were willing to wait and give them time.  Perhaps it is not too early now to ask whether the same type of hypocrisy and callousness regarding peoples' rights will be what people will get, with some additional nice words like zero tolerance of torture.

At the time of writing this we are perturbed by the rumors coming from well informed sources that this officer is going to be made permanent in his post at Kandy.

We are still hopeful that given your past knowledge about human rights you may stand true to the principles you have a good knowledge of. The people of Sri Lanka, like the people of other countries, have the right to the benefits of such principles.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

(signed)

Basil Fernando
Executive Director


SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter to the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka and request it to take appropriate action to correct this matter.

Suggested letter:

Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy
Chairperson
Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka
No. 36, Kynsey Road
Colombo 8
SRI LANKA

Dear Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy,

Re: The Issue of the Kandy Coordinator and the Rights of the People in Kandy for Human Rights Protection; Case of Chamila Bandara

I am writing this to express my serious concern on learning that the Coordinator of the HRC office in Kandy is still continuing at his post and he may soon even be promoted. All this after an independent commission has found him to have submitted a false report in the torture case of Chamila Bandara. The inquirer according to one of your own statements found this senior officer to be incompetent and having no training in investigations. There are reports of other allegations including making 15 files of torture cases disappear from his office.

If human rights officers who engage in such blatant violations enjoy impunity, where will be the HRC's credibility in ending impunity in Sri Lanka and achieving 'zero tolerance of torture'?

I urge you to get your commission to understand the seriousness of the issue and to take serious disciplinary action in this matter and ensure that all your human rights officers are competent, honest and trustworthy.

Yours sincerely,


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Please send a letter to:

Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy
Chairperson
Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka
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 (AHRC)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-57-2004
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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.