Author: TELO Admin

International human rights lawyer and Executive Director of the International Truth and Justice Project (ITJP) Yasmin Sooka has expressed her resentment regarding the refusal of the Sri Lankan government to allow remembering the war dead in Sri Lanka Police has made several unsuccessful attempts to persuade courts to ban Tamil preparations to commemorate their loved ones on November 27.

In her open letter in the Jaffna based Tamil Newspaper ‘Uthayan’, Sooka has expressed her anguish and deep concern over the failure to rectify and bring about true justice for the families of the disappeared and for those tortured and displaced during the brutal civil war which came to a bloody end in May 2009.

The English translation of her article is found below:

Impunity in Sri Lanka has deepened, given the Government of Sri Lanka’s failure to ensure any kind of accountability for those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed at the end of the civil war in May 2009.

While the war may have ended, the persecution of Tamils in Sri Lanka and abroad continues. The violence that continues to be inflicted by the security forces impacts not only on individuals and their families, but also destroys the social fabric on which coexistence, tradition and trust are built.

The Government of Sri Lanka continues to violate the legitimate rights of Tamil families to mourn on 27 November and remember those who lost their lives in the Tamil struggle for liberation.

Year after year, since 2014, my organisation has documented the testimony of torture survivors who flee abroad.

The Sri Lankan intelligence agencies photograph them after they attend remembrance events in the north east, visiting them later and threatening them

One man we interviewed, who made a speech on 27 November 2022 at a cemetery in the north said he thought it was safe to do so, as the new President had allowed the events to go ahead.

Days later, and in violation of his right to freedom of expression and freedom of movement, he was picked up and tortured; he fled, leaving behind his new-born baby and thriving business.

In interrogations the security forces ask ‘who funds these commemorations’ which misses the point.

Organising and attending commemorations are not just acts of resistance but also expressions of a very deep personal grief felt by all survivors of this terrible war. Families of victims of state sponsored violence are also themselves victims; in addition to the suffering caused by the disappearance, torture or death of their loved ones, they face the overwhelming barrier of impunity, and guilt for having survived.

In their struggle for truth and justice, the survivors consider it their moral and social responsibility to continue to remember the dead and the disappeared. It’s not just those who mourn their family and friends on 27 November but the whole community that remembers the sacrifice and the collective suffering.

Over the years we’ve seen groups of Tamil survivors abroad reclaim their right to remember the dead in private and in public spaces.

In the process they struggle with what it means to survive, and to bear witness.

They find new ways to articulate not only their individual suffering but also that of their communities in order to keep the memory alive for future generations.

No amount of repression is going to stamp out the human need to mourn, especially if it’s for your child or parent. A torture survivor described that even while detained in Boosa after the war, he and his cellmates rose early to light a candle on 27 November, knowing full well the guards would exact revenge.

Nevertheless it was the last scrap of dignity they had left and for them it was worth the cost.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe, speaks of establishing a Truth Commission; in a context where survivors of the war are unable to exercise their right to mourn and deal with their pain when they attend commemoration events, it is unlikely that survivors will participate and provide testimony to such a body.

If a Truth Commission is to be successful and credible, the President will need to guarantee state-sponsored violence will end, and that there will be no further surveillance of events by the security forces on 27 November and there will be no reprisals against those who organise or take part in them.

The diplomatic community should not remain silent in the face of this repression and should send international observers to ensure that officers in plain clothes are not taking photos.

Special Rapporteurs of the United Nations have expressed concerns over the proposed Online Safety Act and Broadcasting Regulatory Commission Act.

UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association Clement Nyaletsossi Voule, and Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy, Ana Brian Nougrères, expressed their concerns via a statement to the Sri Lankan government.

They note that the Online Safety Act and Broadcasting Regulatory Commission Act do not meet the requirements of international law and standards.

They noted that there are potential violations of the rights to privacy, freedom of opinion and expression, and freedom of peaceful assembly and of association as protected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), acceded to by Sri Lanka.

In terms of the Online Safety Act, they said that many provisions appear vague and overly broad and may therefore fail to meet the requirements of the ICCPR.

The statement added that the proposed law may severely limit the scope of online expression and may pose major barriers and threats to any individuals, especially journalists, human rights defenders and civil society organisations who may be critical of the government.

They added that the bill seems to be directed at people living in Sri Lanka and at the diaspora, with severe adverse effects on the freedom of expression of a very wide range of individuals.

On the proposed Broadcasting Regulatory Commission Act , the Special Rapporteurs said that Commission’s appointment process, if implemented in its current form, may thus give the executive the ability to punish, and/or deny licenses to media outlets that do not have a favourable view of the Government.

They stressed that it is essential that the oversight mechanism be an autonomous body, independent from any pressure or political ties.

The statement added that to protect freedom of expression, international standards require States to respect the freedom of the media.

It added that States have an obligation to refrain from engaging in indirect forms of censorship, such as the abuse of controls over newsprint, radio frequencies or infrastructure used to disseminate media content and ensure the independence of bodies which exercise regulatory powers over the media.

The Special Rapporteurs encourage the withdrawal, public consultation and substantial review of key aspects of both the proposed Online Safety Act and the Broadcasting Regulatory Commission Act.

The forthcoming Presidential Election is slated to take place on a day between 16 September and 17 October next year, as confirmed by Election Commission (EC) Chairman R.M.A.L. Rathnayake.

He told The Sunday Morning that the specific date for the election would be decided and officially announced in July (as per the two-month advance notice prior to the commencement of the stipulated election period).

Emphasising on adherence to constitutional and legal frameworks, Rathnayake highlighted that the selection of the election date would strictly follow the procedures outlined in both the Constitution and the Presidential Elections Act.

Accordingly, Section 2 of the Presidential Elections Act No.15 of 1981 states: “(1) Where the Commissioner of Elections is required by the Constitution to conduct the election of the President, he shall by Order published in the gazette (a) fix the date of nomination of candidates being a date not less than 16 days and not more than one month from the date of publication of such Order, and the place of nomination; and (b) fix the date on which the poll shall be taken, being a date not less than one month and not more than two months from the date of nomination.

“(2) The date fixed under paragraph (a) or paragraph (b) of subsection (1) shall be any day other than a full moon Poya day or any public holiday specified in the First Schedule to the Holidays Act No.29 of 1971; and if, after the publication of the Order under subsection (1), any day specified therein is declared to be a public holiday, such declaration shall in no way affect the validity of anything done on such day for the purposes of that subsection.”

Further, Chapter VII, Section 31(3) of the Constitution states: “The poll for the election of the President shall be taken not less than one month and not more than two months before the expiration of the term of office of the President in office.”

Explaining further, the EC Chairman said that essential measures had already been initiated to prepare for the upcoming Presidential Election, including the formation of the electoral registry.

He further disclosed that subsequent tasks, such as securing funds for activities like printing ballot papers and other documentation work, were scheduled to commence in the coming year.

When asked about the General Election, the EC Chairman clarified that the anticipated date was 2025. However, he pointed out the possibility for the newly-elected President to dissolve Parliament and expedite the General Election upon assuming office. This flexibility is contingent upon the preferences of the incoming president.

Meanwhile, President Ranil Wickremesinghe asserted in Parliament last week that both the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections were scheduled to be held next year.

China has been requested to share copies of a letter issued to Sri Lanka on debt restructuring, with other creditors, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that China had given him a confidential letter on restructuring Sri Lanka’s debt.

In an interview with Firstpost’s Palki Sharma, the President said that he has requested China to share copies of the letter with other creditors.

The President said that China has agreed to restructure Sri Lanka’s debt on its own terms.

He said China does not want to be part of the IMF facilitated process.