April 16, 2012he harassment of Ms. Sandya Ekneligoda by the government’s supporters in Geneva and by the Attorney General’s department, for joining the UN Human Rights Council
Mrs. Sandya Ekneligoda was one of the speakers during a side event held on 19th March 2012 during the 19th sessions of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. The side event was titled “Rule of Law and human rights violations in Sri Lanka: Perspectives from women, minorities and families of disappeared”. She was invited to share her perspectives as the wife of a disappeared journalist / cartoonist Prageeth Ekneligoda and as woman human rights defender who had been engaging with various Sri Lankan legal institutions and government officials as well as international bodies to search for her husband while also advocating more broadly for democratization in Sri Lanka and on the plight and aspirations of families of disappeared.
During the side event, Mr. Douglas Wickramaratne, a well known supporter of the Sri Lankan government delegation in Geneva for a number of years, attempted to intimidate Mrs. Ekneligoda by saying that “you are coming to Geneva with a smiling face, you are not a victim”. Immediately after the event, another group of men had come to her, identified themselves as Sri Lankan Muslims and said “We are sad about what happened to your husband, but you should not betray the country, even though we are Muslims, we have come here to defend the country” They also accused Mrs. Ekneligoda of being manipulated by the money of various organizations. Ms. Farah Mihlar, another women human rights defender who was a speaker at the same panel, was also harassed by members of the Sri Lankan Government delegation. Read More...
