Pardon and release the 158 Tamil remand prisoners

By Dr. Vickramabahu Karunaratne-2017-10-19

Defence State Minister Ruwan Wijewardene insisted recently that prisoners kept under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) cannot be released. He reiterated that the remanded LTTE suspects, who had allegedly committed serious crimes, will not be freed without a judicial process despite the Hartal campaigns in the North and elsewhere. However, it is not clear whether he meant the few who are charged with some evidence or the entire 158 Tamil prisoners who are kept under the PTA because many of them have only their confessions 'against' them.

The State Minister observed that the Hartal campaign in the North is politically motivated and a group seeking political mileage is behind it. Obviously keeping prisoners, for years and years will automatically become a serious political issue in a situation where nationality discrimination is involved.

Wijewardene made these observations speaking to the media after an event at a school in Biyagama. The State Minister pointed out that several Tamil National Alliance (TNA) members are trying to disrupt the day-to-day life of the people in the North by organizing a Hartal campaign. It is true that these remand prisoners have become a political problem not only in the North but also in the South as well. They are remand prisoners accused of fighting for the liberation of a Tamil homeland using violence and terror. The Minister pointing out that there are no 'political prisoners' as claimed by the TNA, explained that investigations have revealed that those prisoners were involved in serious crimes during the time of war. That is not true; several of them are already accused of crimes against the State while others have not been charged so far. He noted that those prisoners could not be released without a judicial inquiry. "If there are delays in the judicial process, those must be rectified. However, the remand prisoners must go through the judicial process and either be convicted or released at the end of it," he said.

Rajitha did not agree with Wijewardene

However, Minister Rajitha Senaratne did not agree with Wijewardene. Rajitha said: "Apart from those who face legal issues for their criminal activities, the government should take legal steps either to charge them or release them.

The issue of political prisoners should be resolved once and for all." Health Minister Senaratne's remarks have come as the families of these prisoners stepped up their protest campaigns in the North and in the South demanding the early release of their loved ones.

Rajitha indicated: "The delay in releasing the Tamil political prisoners will seriously hamper the efforts for national reconciliation." As a top Cabinet Minister he insisted that the government should act fast on releasing the Tamil political prisoners who are being held for several years without proper charges. "The government has to take an urgent decision in this regard. They cannot keep these political prisoners forever," Cabinet Spokesman Minister Rajitha Senaratne told the media. Pointing out that similar political prisoners of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) were released under general amnesty after its 1971 and 1988 insurrections in the South, he said "therefore, it is incumbent on the government to take a faster decision on the release of Tamil political prisoners".

Meanwhile, the Leader of the Opposition, R. Sampanthan raised the issue of Tamil political prisoners in Parliament recently and demanded the government to adopt a flexible approach to this issue. He said although the Foreign Minister has given a pledge to the UN Human Rights High Commissioner to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act, "the Tamil political prisoners are still being held under this draconian law.

"Only 19 people have been released in the past. Many others are still being held under the PTA despite many protests. How can the government detain them under the PTA when the Foreign Minister himself is highly critical of it? The PTA is against the law and we cannot accept any legal action under it," Sampanthan said. An unnecessary complication has been created by the transfer of some cases from Vavuniya to Anuradhapura. If witnesses needed protection, such protection could have been provided without the cases being transferred.

We have to very strongly urge that these remand prisoners be released without any further delay. In Jaffna President Maithripala Sirisena was heard as saying: "Come let us discuss and see how the matter can be solved. The Tamils voted for me, you must remember. Sivajilingam replied: "So how do you pay back your gratitude to the people who supported you." Simple, pardon and release these 158 Tamil prisoners.