Video: IUSF protest Pix by Kushan Pathiraja-WEDNESDAY, 19 JUNE 2013 The Inter UniversityStudents Federation (IUSF) today held a protest outside the Sri Jayawardenepura University over the suspension of 58 students and the cancellation of the studentship of 11 university students. IUSF Convener Sanjeewa Bandara said the students were suspended for revealing the situation prevailing in the University. “There are no hostel or canteen facilities in the university today.The freedom to gather and establishstudent unions has been curtailed,” he said. Mr. Bandara said all the IUSF students in other universities would alsohold protests if the authorities failed to take immediate action to solve the crisis in the J’pura University and if it failed to stop the arbitrary action taken to suspend students. (Text and Video by Sanath Desmond)

A Kneeling Nation

By Ravi Perera -June 19, 2013 

Ravi Perera

To a thinking Sri Lankan these are universally distressing times. We can accept economic denials and   hardships as   part and parcel of life in a poor third world country. Given the tone of the general interaction between man and man in this land, Political corruption as a social phenomenon seems  an inevitability. The expectation that the wielders of power will abuse it and the ruled will make an appropriate accommodation with that reality is as old as the days of the kings, as the saying goes. But more recent  institutions such as the  judiciary and the constabulary , fashioned very much on British models as it were , remained , although much abused by the politicians, as foreign concepts, and maybe due to that fact , somewhat insulated from the darkness without.

By that we do not mean that our Police force is a shining example to the world. Its reputation is marred with brutality, corruption, favoritism and politicization.  But the fact that it still provides an acceptable standard of civil policing speaks volumes for the basic soundness of its structures. The constabulary, uniformed, disciplined, trained in the objective enforcement of the law is very much an essential feature of a modern State. Except the President, every other citizen if in violation of the law is in the reach of the long arm of the law, enforced by the constabulary independently and objectively. Likewise, the judiciary, decked in very British wigs and gowns, their independence secured by tradition and supporting laws, are to judge according to the law and evidence before them. There is little room for emotion, bias or malice in the process.

At least this is how these institutions are expected function.

Two recent events, one where a very senior Police officer is said to be a suspect in a diabolically planned murder and the other, a judicial officer a suspect in a bribery case, are bound to shake to the core whatever public confidence they may have had in these institutions until now.

We do not know whether these two law/judicial officers are guilty of the offences alleged to have been committed by them. Both allegations are in the investigative stage and of course they are entitled to the protection of the common law principle of the presumption of innocence. We will refer to the guilt of a person only upon conviction in a court of law.

But on the other hand, if the standards in the country today are such that the Police officers are indulging in criminal activity while judicial officers are open to bribery, of what worth is a judgment of a court of law? A police officer who can commit murder will surely have no compunction in fabricating evidence against a suspect. Likewise, there cannot be a credible judicial system if the judges are accepting various inducements. Any serious citing of a case must assume that the investigating officers play by the rules and that the integrity of the judge is not subject to speculation.

In that context do we now have a system worth talking about in the area of law enforcement?

Although the public perception may be different, it may well be that these kind of activities are the exception yet. Perhaps a few rotten apples are damaging the reputation of these vital institutions. But even then it begs the question how such wrong doing could have thrived for such a length of time at a senior level in a service. A Deputy Inspector General is only one step away from becoming the Chief Policeman of the country. To get to that position an officer has to climb the hierarchy and presumably is subject to close scrutiny all the way by his seniors, beside his   peers. Similarly, how could one reconcile the absurdity of a judge whose very function is the administration of justice is also besmirched with allegations of corruption?

The answer perhaps lies far away from the scenes of the alleged offences of these two persons. From a remote area in the North Western Province we read about an incident where a politician humiliated a female school teacher by forcing her to kneel in the presence of her students. Apparently the teacher had enraged the politician by pulling up his daughter for turning up in school in a dress deemed inappropriate by her.

Figuratively, the teacher, the policeman and perhaps even the judge have been all made to kneel before the politician. From that lowly perception,   murder and corruption will look altogether different to the perception of a person who is standing up right.

It is strange how with time all politicians  come to resemble one another in this country; corpulent, faces shinny with good health, perpetual smirk on their faces, deliberate manner of talk, taste in dress the uniform national – immaculate and expensive white and  mode of travel- in convoys. And of course everybody on the road must make room for their convoys. Similarities even extend to their families. Almost every politician will have their boys study in a European university before taking to politics like their fathers! Even the junior is provided with State security and one of the rites of his entry to manhood will be to beat up some unfortunate at a nightclub! It does not matter at what level and where a   person is doing politics. Seemingly the machinery of our politics is capable of producing only one stereotype.

The results of their feckless activities are evident all around.  Once proud and fruitful institutions have been demeaned and destroyed. We are told that even the case concerning the DIG is being investigated only because the President himself ordered it. If the President does not order such an inquiry an affected family can only bury their dead! Corruption is rampant and the State machinery has become a private asset of the rulers. In terms of economics and social development almost every other nation in Asia has overtaken us. Occasionally the fast moving convoys stop on the way and the politician puts his sandaled feet down, waving to the gathering crowd. The armed bodyguards form a protective ring around him. It is the time for a grateful nation to kneel down in homage.

Sri Lanka solving China’s unemployment!

 June 19, 2013 

• Over 26,000 work visas issued to Chinese since 2005
• Govt. says compelled to issue visas due to lack of skilled labour in the country
• Burgeoning construction related projects creating demand: Dinesh
• Ravi K says first preference should be to Lankan migrant workers struggling in Middle East on domestic projects

By Ashwin Hemmathagama
Our Lobby Correspondent
Over 26,000 Sri Lankan work visas have been issued to Chinese nationals over the last seven years to meet the demand for skilled labour, the Government revealed in Parliament yesterday, as ties between the two countries continue to burgeon.

Responding to a question posed by UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake who highlighted growing unemployment in the country, Minister of Water Supply and Drainage and Chief Government Whip Dinesh Gunawardena said the growing number of construction related projects under the Board of Investment and the shortage of skilled workers in the country had prompted the Government to issue work permits to Chinese workmen.
Minister Gunaw-ardena, who informed the House that 26,404 visas had been issued to Chinese workers, added that the number of visas issues had increased from 1,517 in 2005 to 5,588 in 2011.
“Based on requests of the respective companies, visas are recommended for expatriates to be employed by the BoI companies based on the non-availability of required technical skills or expertise within the country. The only loss of revenue to us would be their salaries, which are repatriated back to China,” clarified Minister Gunawardena.
Karunanayake insisted that Sri Lankan migrant workers who “struggle in the Middle East” should be the first option against Chinese personnel when such vacancies arise for domestic projects.
“We take loans from the Chinese and then again employ their people also. We repay the loan and also the salaries for their workers. Not only blue collar jobs but white collar jobs are also scarce in Sri Lanka. Many educated people are in search of opportunities. China is not a part of our country. We should keep that in mind when providing employment,” the UNP MP said.

On The Sustainable Development Debate In The Youth Parliament

By Chandra Jayaratne -June 19, 2013 

Chandra Jayaratne

Hon. Dullas Allahapperuma,

Minister of Youth Affairs and Skills Development,

“Nipunatha Nivasa”,

354/2, Elvitigala Mawatha,

Colombo 5.

Hon. Minister,

The Sustainable Development Debate in the Youth Parliament

What are the National Priorities, Strategies and Expected Milestones in Sustainable Development to meet the needs and aspirations of the Future Generations?

I am sure that you will no doubt agree, with nearly twenty one million people sharing the present national resources of Sri Lanka and looking in to a future of unprecedented global socio-political and economic challenges in ensuring equity, sustainability, peace and harmony, whilst eradicating poverty and bringing prosperity and growth to enliven the future generations, that the sustainable development debate becomes one of prime importance today, in the executive and legislative governance processes.

Activities designed to stimulate debate and discussion regarding the widely divergent positions held by different stakeholders of society, on what constitutes sustainable development for growth and prosperity of the future generations and how it may best be achieved within the constraints of available limited national resources, is an imperative that should not be lost sight of by current leaders in governance.

As the Development Debate actively unfolds globally and in the Sri Lankan Cabinet, Parliament, Provincial Councils, Local Authorities, Policy Makers of the State, Academia, Business, Media and in Civil Society Think Tanks, I am sure that you will certainly endorse the view that, engaging the youth and children (our future generation) to actively participate in the debate concurrently, is an important accountability of the executive, media and elders in society.

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Skills Development and the Media have important roles to play and a national accountability to be the catalysts in moving forward the Sustainable Development Debate. Here, it is essential that the debate is extended to specifically examine how to meet the needs and aspirations of the present leaders and present generation, without compromising in any way the ability and needs of the future generations to meet their needs.

“All over the world people in politics, enterprises and social movements increasingly realize that we have to come up with new solutions and profound changes of mainstream policies that are credibly linking commitment to measurable steps. Money flow and technologies are important, as are new arrangements for democracy and the management of the commons. Integration of fragmented aspects is key . That is what strategies for sustainable development are about and why they mark new political thinking. The EUSustainable Development Strategy encourages Member States to adopt national strategies for sustainable development and to establish national multi-stakeholder Councils. Where they exist Councils effectively promote sustainability thinking, stimulate informed debate, and, through their advice, qualify national SD strategies” notes the foreword  titled ‘Catching a Glimpse of the Future’ in the paper ‘Stimulating informed debate

– Sustainable Development Councils in EU Member States. A compilation of tasks, capacities, and best practice’http://www.stakeholderforum.org/fileadmin/files/Sustainability_Councils_stimulating_informed_debate_01.pdf”

I therefore earnestly appeal to you to arrange for the next session of the Sri Lanka Youth Parliament, to comprehensively and actively debate the topic “What are the National Priorities, Strategies and Expected Milestones in Sustainable Development, to meet the needs and aspirations of the Future Generations?

By a copy of this letter I appeal to the Editors of Media Institutions to devote their resources and journalists in pursuing actively a similar debate to take place involving different stakeholders of society.

I feel that the outcomes from such a debate will significantly enrich the President, the Cabinet, the Legislatures and the Policy Makers in their endeavors in planning and executing development initiatives in Sri Lanka, in order to deliver to the nation and its future generations the sustainable future of growth and prosperity they will aspire for.

Yours Sincerely,

Chandra Jayaratne

16^th June 2013

cc. H.E. the President and Hon Minister of Finance & Planing,

Hon Minister of Education,

Hon. Minister of Higher Education,

Secretary Ministry of Finance & Planning,

Governor, Central Bank

Additional Secretary Youth Development,

Director General, National Youth Services Council,

Secretary General, Sri Lanka Youth Parliament,

Speaker, Sri Lanka Youth Parliament,

Leader of the House, Sri Lanka Youth Parliament,

Leader of the Opposition, Sri Lanka Youth Parliament,

Editors, Media Institutions

Harper's policy on vulnerable refugees is wildly inconsistent -- and cruel

BY

KARL NERENBERG

 | JUNE 18, 2013

KARL NERENBERG'S BLOG

Karl Nerenberg joins rabble to cover news for the rest of us from Parliament Hill. Karl has been a journalist for over 25 years including eight years as the producer of the CBC show The House. He has written scripts for documentary films and long-form television reports for such shows as Le Point and Actuel on Radio Canada television and The Journal on CBC-TV. Karl also founded and, for five years, edited the magazine Federations: What's new in federalism worldwide.

Karl has been awarded a Gemini award, a Best International Documentary Series award (from "la communauté des televisions francophones"), a CBC Radio Award for Best New Series (C'est la vie) among others. As a broadcaster, Mr. Nerenberg produced and directed television series and documentaries in a wide range of genres and on a great variety of subjects -- from civil war in Central America, to the crisis in South Africa's Apartheid system.

Karl works in both English and French, and can be reached at karl@rabble.ca

Please support our coverage of democratic movements and become a supporting member of rabble.ca.

If consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, the Harper government must be broad-minded indeed.

As the NDP's Don Davies pointed out in an op-ed the other day, Harper advocates free trade while raising tariffs.

Harper's Policy on Vulnerable Refugees is Wildly Inconsistent and Cruel by nelvely

British Tamils Forum condemns anti-Tamil violence on the streets of London

Wednesday, 19 June 2013

British Tamils Forum condemns in the strongest terms the violence meted out against peaceful Tamil protesters by Sri Lankan cricket fans outside the Oval cricket ground on the evening of Monday 17 June 2013. Furthermore, British Tamils Forum calls upon the Metropolitan Police and the UK Government to investigate how Sri Lankan fans were able physically attack peaceful protesters in the midst of a heavy police presence and to take steps to ensure the safety of protesters at future matches.

A dedicated band of activists from a number of organisations, including British Tamils Forum, have peacefully demonstrated outside every match played by the Sri Lankan cricket team as part of the ICC Champions Trophy 2013, currently being held in the UK. Displaying banners and placards informing the public of the plight of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka, they have been demonstrating for two reasons:

1. To put pressure on the international cricket establishment to boycott the Sri Lankan team;

2. To engage with the general public and cricket fans, informing them about the current situation in Sri Lanka and explaining the call for a boycott.

The demonstrators have been generally well-received by the British public, many of whom have shown an interest in the history of Sri Lanka and the reasons behind the call for a boycott. However, ever since the first match in Cardiff, campaigners have faced persistent abuse and intimidation from Sri Lankan fans, despite the presence of police and camera-phones recording their actions. This abuse has been well-documented in the Tamil media and by Tamil campaigners on Twitter and Facebook.

Given the brazen and largely unchecked behaviour of Sri Lankan cricket fans at previous matches – hurling racial abuse, making threats of violence, taking photos of demonstrators and threatening to send these to the Sri Lankan authorities – it came as little surprise when these fans sank to new depths on Monday night, physically assaulting campaigners – who included terrified children and the elderly – right in front of the police and recording camera-phones.

Nevertheless, the British Tamils Forum is disappointed at the inability of the police, who were present in large numbers, to ensure the safety of peaceful protesters in Central London. British Tamils Forum is further dismayed at the police’s reluctance to pursue charges against the assailants, despite the preponderance of witnesses to the assaults and ample photographic evidence.

Many British Tamils came to the United Kingdom to escape precisely this sort of racist mob violence, which has been visited on Tamils many times since Sri Lankan independence. They are understandably upset and afraid that they are still at risk of attack by Sinhalese mobs in the UK – their country of refuge.

If they are to assuage these genuine fears – and to preserve the UK’s reputation as a country where every citizen can peacefully demonstrate in safety – the Metropolitan Police and UK government must:

1. Prosecute all those who took part in and orchestrated these assaults against peaceful demonstrators;

2. Investigate why the police failed to adequately protect demonstrators from violence on Monday;

3. Ensure the safety of demonstrators at future cricket matches.

Such firm actions would also send a clear signal to Sri Lankan cricket fans that this sort of racist thuggery – though sadly a commonplace feature of life in Sri Lanka – has no place in the United Kingdom.

Additional information: the case for a boycott

The boycotting of the sports and cultural institutions of an oppressive state has a venerable history; cricket in particular has provided shining examples of the effectiveness of this form of struggle. Archbishop Desmond Tutu explained the purpose of such boycotts succinctly in his 2008 MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture, where he said,

“Many of you will remember how effective the sports boycott of the 1970s and 1980s was in conveying to sport-crazy South Africans that our society had placed itself beyond the pale…”

In the case of Sri Lanka, a cricket boycott is made particularly apt by the strong ties that bind the Sri Lankan State – which stands accused of war crimes and genocide against the Tamil people – and Sri Lankan national cricket. These ties run both ways: with the government having a say in team selection and with ex-members of the cricket team subsequently taking up government posts. Therefore, in the case of Sri Lanka, the common anti-boycott retort that “sports and politics shouldn’t mix” holds little water.

In addition, the violence of Sri Lankan cricket fans on Monday gives lie to the refrain that a cricket boycott would misguidedly target the (presumably Tamil-loving) Sinhalese people rather than the State. The chants, triumphalism and violence of the Sri Lankan fans demonstrate that they largely stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Sri Lankan State. Under such circumstances, an international cricket boycott would send both Sinhalese Society and the State a clear signal that, in the words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, it has “placed itself beyond the pale”.

For these reasons, the British Tamils Forum is a strong advocate for an international boycott of Sri Lankan cricket until the Tamil people are granted their rights in full, a credible and sustainable solution is found to their legitimate security concerns, and an independent international investigation is carried out into the war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide that have been perpetrated in Sri Lanka before, during and since the Mullivaikkal Massacre of 2009.

Boycott SL Cricket: BTF Wants UK Govt. To Investigate How Peaceful Protesters Were Physically Attacked

June 19, 2013 

British Tamils Forum calls upon the Metropolitan Police and the UK Government to investigate how Sri Lankan fans were able physically attack peaceful protesters in the midst of a heavy police presence and to take steps to ensure the safety of protesters at future matches.

This abuse has been well-documented in the Tamil media and by Tamil campaigners on Twitter and Facebook

Issuing a statement British Tamils Forum says; the British Tamils Forum is a strong advocate for an international boycott of Sri Lankan cricket until the Tamil people are granted their rights in full, a credible and sustainable solution is found to their legitimate security concerns, and an independent international investigation is carried out into the war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide that have been perpetrated in Sri Lanka before, during and since the Mullivaikkal Massacre of 2009.

We publish below the statement in full;

Boycott SL Cricket BTF Wants UK Govt. to Investigate How Peaceful Protesters Were Physically Attacked by nelvely

UK university students condemn racist attacks
University Tamil societies from across the UK have released a statement condemning the racist attacks outside the Oval on Monday.

21 Tamil societies joined together to denounce the attacks and commend the peaceful campaign of the activists, while questioning the lack of response from police forces to assaults.

See here for full statement.

See the undersigned universities below.

Uni Tamil Socs Statement by nelvely

Film examines silence around family member’s mental illness

Pandi winner of Audience Choice Award at Scarborough Film Festival

Film examines silence around family member’s mental illness

Photo/COURTESY

A scene from the film Pandi, by director Maria-Saroja Ponnambalam.

Scarborough Mirror

ByMike Adler

For years, the secret of Pandi’s death was kept from her.

Maria-Saroja Ponnambalam last saw her uncle, Pandian Kumaraswamy in 1996 and was 12 when her father Ponnu, Pandi’s brother, told her he had died.

Ponnu wouldn’t say what happened, only that Pandi was “sick.”

“The silence around his death lasted for years,” Ponnambalam says in her feature documentary, Pandi, which had its world premiere at the Scarborough Film Festival this month.

The lack of clear answers from anyone about Pandi, who had desperately wanted to be a filmmaker and inspired her to be one, eventually drove the Greater Toronto-raised Ponnambalam to retrace his steps to Chennai, India, and uncover her uncle’s struggles with intensifying mental illness.

Ponnambalam’s first feature is about communication in her Tamil-Canadian family, how they could not frankly discuss Pandi’s mental illness when it was an unacknowledged elephant in the room but are seeing it now.

In Pandi, her uncle is an imaginative man who sometimes thought the chalkboard at his childhood school was a movie screen.

Frustrated by his experiences in Chennai’s movie industry, Pandi came to Toronto, took a course at Ryerson University and started working in restaurants and factories. As he worked 80 hours a week in one factory, he started saying people were spying on him.

Pandi’s relatives in Chennai didn’t know what happened to him in Canada, or much about his illness. “We never took it very seriously,” says Rathi, an older sister, adding professional opinions differed on what ailed Pandi and what could help him. “They all sounded like mismanagements,”

One doctor administered shock therapy, and Pandi was also taken to a waterfall known to cure mental illness.

A medical certificate says Pandi was bipolar but Ponnambalam’s family in India and Canada would only refer to his illness as “depression,” a word Ponnambalam said was used to subdue its severity.

Pandi, a former atheist, joined a church in India. Before he died, he wrote a movie script - brought to life in bursts of animation by the Toronto artist Jessica Palmer - in which he is called Pondy, an inventor who falls off a building and returns as a “Jesus Christ” seeking to write a “modern testament” of the Bible.

Two years after returning to India, Pandi wanted to return to Toronto as a permanent resident, but was turned down. He told Ponnu and others he wanted to kill himself, and then did.

“Madness,” Pandi says in some of the writing he left behind, “is you don’t know who you are.”

Following the screening at the University of Toronto Scarborough, Ponnambalam said working with her parents on the film, winner of the inaugural festival’s Audience Choice Award for features, was fun, but getting answers from her father was challenging.

Making a documentary is a powerful way to get people to open up to you, said Ponnambalam, who is currently community media project coordinator at the National Film Board Highrise project, which teaches tenants in “vertical surburbs” how to use cameras.

The video camera was an advantage she used: it showed her family she was serious about making Pandi and finding the truth, she said.

Ponnambalam hopes the film - which shifts between Chennai, once called Madras, home movies, and found footage Pandi shot himself at the family’s former apartment near Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue - will raise awareness of the stresses immigration can cause in people predisposed to mental illness.

Lack of education about mental health isn’t confined to places like Chennai, she added. “I didn’t even learn about mental health growing up in Canada.”

Ponnambalam said more people need to know about mental health resources available here.

Overcoming the stigma of mental illness has long been an important issue in Toronto’s Tamil community, with some members suffering effects from a long and terrible civil war in Sri Lanka, the devastation of the Indian Ocean Tsunami or substance abuse in Canada.

Ponnambalam’s parents had not wanted the secret about Pandi to come out.

But after the screening Tiuley, her mother, said the movie makes Pandi’s life into something more than a sad story the family tried to forget.

Sharing the story, and “speaking about the things that hurt” makes them hurt less, she said.

It also made Tiuley feel more connected to others who have similar stories of their own. “It did change me. I’m a different person because of this movie,” she said.

Ponnu said he feels like his brother – whom he guesses would be surprised and happy with the film – has sort of returned through its making.

People have lately told him of their own family members or close friends who are mentally ill, he said. “We have this problem among us. We try to ignore it. I think it’s still a problem.”

An Open Letter To IGP On Brual Torture Practices By Police

By Bijo Francis -June 19, 2013 

Bijo Francis

Mr. N K Illangakoon

Inspector General of Police
New Secretariat
Colombo 1
SRI LANKA

Fax: +94 11 2 440440 / 327877
E-mail: igp@police.lk

Dear Mr. Illangakoon,

Re: Cases of torture perpetrated by officers of the Sri Lankan Police

I am writing to bring to your notice a letter the Asian Human Rights Commission wrote to His Excellency the President of Sri Lanka on the use of chilli by police officers for torturing suspects they are interrogating. I am also bringing to your notice three extremely brutal cases of torture reported from Sri Lanka recently: Madawala Maddumage Don Aruna Nilupul Indika, a reputed interior decorator was arrested on the basis of a false complaint and subjected to severe torture by way of the application of the juice of chillies which was forced into his eyes, penis and anus. The second case was that of Mr. Chandila Padmakumara Gurusinghe who was also tortured with chilli and threatened with sodomy. The third was that of Kopiya Waththage Don Chaminda Priyantha Kumara who was tortured by the use of a wooden mallet on his testicles.

In all these three cases there are the following features.

1. There were no reasonable grounds for the arrest of these persons.
2. At the moment of arrest they were not informed of the reason for their arrest, thus violating the Constitutional guarantee of the right to be informed of the reason for attest.
3. There was no reasonable questioning at the time of arrest or after they were brought to the police station.
4. The beginning of the interaction with the suspects was by torture. While the torture was ongoing they were asked about information on what the police suspected them of with the view to obtain information from the suspects themselves about what they might have done.
5. The methods of torture were inhumane such as forcing the suspects to remove their clothes, the application of chilli and/or the beating of the testicles with blunt instruments and suspending them by the wrists from the ceiling and the use of extremely filthy language.
6. At the end of the ordeals what the police found was that the persons were completely innocent of the crimes that the police suspected them of having committed.
7. Despite of all this in two instances fabricated charges were filed.

I am attaching the letter written to His Excellency the President as well as the reports of complaints made by the persons who were subjected to these ordeals.

As you are well aware the practice of torture and the use of extremely brutal methods are a common factor in police interrogations in Sri Lanka. This is despite of the constitutional provisions guaranteeing citizens protection against torture and the provision of the law under the CAT Act, No. 22 of 1994 which criminalised torture and prescribes 7 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 10.000/= against any offender.

One of the main reasons for the widespread use of torture is the stopping of investigations under the CAT Act and the prosecutions on the basis of that law. At present Act No. 22 of 1994 is a law that is deliberately not implemented in Sri Lanka.

You will also admit that without the acquiescence of high ranking police officers from the OIC’s up to ASPs, SSPs and DIGs this widespread practice cannot take place. Therefore it is a valid assumption that as a matter of policy torture is allowed and encouraged to be done by police officers despite of constitutional provisions and criminal law provision prohibiting torture. When the highest ranking police officers are complicit in the violation of the constitution and the criminal law what hope can there be for the protection of the citizens and the enforcement of the rule of law.

The common excuse seems to be that the policing establishment believes that it is not equipped with the necessary resources, including adequate financial resources, for the proper enforcement of their duties and therefore resorting to barbaric and illegal methods is justified as the overall aim is the prevention of crime. An important institution such as the police, if it assumes that it cannot abide by the law which it is supposed to enforce, is a manifestation of an extraordinary crisis in the country.

As the highest ranking police officer in Sri Lanka it is your duty, together with other high ranking officers, to bring to the notice of the executive and the legislature the inadequacies of resources and financial allocations you suffer from, if such is the case. However, this should not be used as an excuse to violate the constitution, the criminal law of the country and to expose the citizens to such extraordinary cruel and illegal behaviour on the part of the country’s law enforcement officers.

We earnestly urge you to take this matter seriously and:

1. Take steps to ensure investigations under the CAT Act, No. 22 of 1994 into the complaints of torture and ill-treatment through a special unit of inquiry of the Criminal Investigation Division as this used to be done before it was deliberately discontinued.
2. To discuss with the highest ranking officers of the police the nature of command responsibility they owe within the policing system and the consequences of the failure to carry out such responsibility.
3. Issue written instructions to reinforce the constitutional criminal law provisions against torture.
4. Take disciplinary action including the dismissal of officers who have practiced such brutal actions.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

Bijo Francis

Executive Director

Asian Human Rights Commission

Attached:      Letter to His Excellency, President Mahinda Rajapaksa

SRI LANKA: A reputed Interior Decorator is severely tortured by officers of  Matugama Police at the instigation of a lawyer and her husband

SRI LANKA: Officers of the Karandeniya police torture and threaten to sodomize businessman, insulting him about his ‘low’ caste origin

SRI LANKA: Officers of the Kalutara South Police Station beat a man’s  testicles with a wooden mallet