Sri Lanka continues 'multifaceted assault of

terror' on Tamils under new government

28 July 2015
Abductions, torture and sexual abuse of Tamils by Sri Lanka's security
forces continue under the new government of President Maithripala
Sirisena, according to a new report released on Tuesday, which calls on
the UN to refer its reports to the International Criminal Court for further
action against those responsible for the crimes.

Location of a secret torture camp in

Trincomalee - International Truth and
Justice Project Sri Lanka report
The report, by the International Truth and Justice Project Sri Lanka (ITJP),
says 100 so-called "white-van" abductions occurred between 2009 and
2015, one from as recent as this month, and describes torture and sexual
violence by military forces and police against Tamils in locations across
the North-East and Colombo.
ITJP in its report published 41 locations on the island where victims say
they were tortured since the end of the armed conflict, revealing the GPS
coordinated for the notorious intelligence detention facility in the
Trincomalee Naval Dockyard. The locations include 15 military camps, 15
police stations, 10 "Rehabilitation Camps" and Menik Farm internment
camp.
The group also said it identified several military officials, with
photographs, who were directly involved in rape, torture and abductions
in Vavuniya's Joseph Camp, and several other sites. The report points out
that the 41 sites identified represent "only a fraction of the total number

of torture sites", as many of the witnesses were unable to recognise the

location they were at.
"Among the 180 cases documented in this report, the pattern is that the
young are detained, tortured and raped, the elderly forced into debt to
save them, while none can safely exercise even their most basic rights or
feel safe," the report said, adding that "on-going harassment and
intimidation of the families in Sri Lanka of torture survivors who have fled
abroad has continued unabated throughout 2015".
The "structures of cruelty" used for ethnic persecution and political
repression have not been dismantled, with a thriving "torture industry" by
the security forces seem to be unaffected by the change in government
earlier this year, said the group, which is led by former member of the UN
Secretary General's Panel of Experts Yasmin Sooka.
ITJP further points out that the proposed UN involvement in an inquiry
into abuses "envisages consultations with law enforcement agencies that
are not just responsible for past violations, but are alleged to be still
committing crimes and attempting to silence witnesses".
Clear and concise calls for international action
The report called on the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, International
Criminal Court Prosecutor, Special Representative on Sexual Violence in
Conflict, and the international community to take concise action:
-

We call upon the UN Security Council to refer both reports, which

indicate reasonable grounds to believe that crimes against humanity
are occurring in Sri Lanka, to the persecutor of the international
Criminal Court

We urge ICC Prosecutor to explore the case of individuals who

bear the greatest responsibility. We also call upon States who are
signatories to the Rome Statute to refer these cases to the ICC
Prosecutor urging her to open a file.

We call upon the Secretary Generals Special Representative on

Sexual Violence in Conflict and the Special Rapporteur on Torture to
arrange a visit to Sri Lanka and initiate a special inquiry into rape
and sexual violence.

We call on the UN Department of Peace-Keeping Operations to

immediately suspend Sri Lankan police and military involvement in
UN peacekeeping missions, pending an independent international
inquiry into allegations fo current, systematic and widespread sexual
abuse by security forces in Sri Lanka, noting that it is not sufficient
to screen individual officers when there is a large body of evidence
of a pattern of widespread and systematic sexual abuse of detainees
by members of security forces and collusion amongst multiple
branches of forces at high levels with the Government of Sri Lanka.
We call upon international bodies such as OHCHR and ICRC not to
offer Sri Lanka government technical assistance on human rights
without at the very least an effective monitoring mechanism, such
as the appointment of a Special Rapporteur or a Special Envoy.
Given level of threat to witnesses, recommendations should take
account of internationally accepted witness protection standards that
would not only protect witnesses but also their families remaining in
Sri Lanka.
-

We call upon Member states having universal jurisdiction over

torture, rape and sexual violence to initiate prosecutions against
identified perpetrators who bear the greatest responsibility, taking
note the need for witness protection measures as set out above.

The report includes harrowing testimony from victims of torture and

sexual abuse and by witnesses, including witnesses described as "security
forces/government insiders", who provided details about the abductions
and detention camps operate. Several of the witnesses were subjected to
the abuse after the new government came into power.
One victim, a young Tamil man said to have been conscripted by the

LTTE, was abducted and tortured in May 2015.

I was beaten on the soles of my feet while lying face down on the bench
with my hands tied in front. I was petrol bagged twice it was a terrible
burning sensation. I became unconscious. My head was submerged into
water; when I was standing on the floor they dragged me on the floor
and put me in the water. I became unconscious after the water torture...
I was also sexually abused in the room where I was kept after the
torture. They were drunk. They were in civilian clothes. Two men were
involved. There were two incidents each with two men. They touched me
on my private parts they forced me to have anal and oral sex with
them. They were using filthy words and said, Why did you join
Prabakharan? He killed all these people. While beating me they were
using filthy words like son of a bitch and bastard. I dont know how to
say those things but they were talking about Tamils in a very bad way.
They said Tamils are dogs, and Tamil women are bitches.
Military insider witnesses describe horrific torture and mutilation of dead
Tamils at the end of the armed conflict in 2009. One described that senior
military officers were present and did nothing to stop the behaviour by
security forces personnel.
"I saw army soldiers continue to drink arrack and dance. They were
dancing because they were very happy after the victory. They were
kicking and stepping on the dead bodies of the LTTE fighters or civilians.
There were officers there but they did not do anything... Two captains
just stood there talking while their men were doing that. Some of the
solders then came and stomped on some of the bodies with their boots
then posed for photographs with a boot on a body and holding their rifle
up posing like a hunter standing over a trophy with smiles on their faces."
Another military witness said Major General Shavendra Silva, now a
diplomat at the UN, and Lt Gen Krishantha de Silva were present during
the capture and murder of female LTTE cadres, followed by mutilation of
the bodies.
The report further implicates former defence secretary Gotabhaya
Rajapaksa in abductions.
An operator of a white van, who provided evidence to the report, said his
team abducted "several hundred":
When we abducted people, they were taken to a number of secret

locations that our group had in or near XX. They were then treated
according to the instructions from Gotabaya. These included beatings,
interrogations and physical torture. In all cases when a person was
arrested/abducted by our group they were killed - either immediately or
after a prolonged torture. Often persons would die during the torture
The youngest I can recall was a 15 year old Tamil boy sent by the LTTE
and the oldest was 60 years old. They would include both men and
women. On occasions, if we could not abduct the actual person, we would
disappear a family member to send the same message.
Witnesses also reported continuing
intimidation and threats once they were
released from custody, or even where they
had fled abroad. One witness from the UK
described how the CID visited their house on
the island, showing a picture of them being
at Heroes' Day and carrying the Tamil flag at
a protest. Another witness said their parents
went missing after being shown pictures of
them at a demonstration in London. Five
Tamil men, involved in the demonstrations
against the government during Prime
Minister David Cameron's visit, were
abducted in white vans and tortured and
sexually abused, the report says, adding
that relatives of diaspora Tamils who took
part in protests were also attacked
The report also highlights the use of sexual violence by the perpetrators
to silence witnesses, as they are aware of the stigma attached to
survivors of sexual violence in the Tamil community, but pointed out that
many Tamil men have defied the social stigma by marrying victims of
rape.
"It matters not whether she lost her virginity willingly or was raped. If
she is raped after marriage, as so often happened in the war by the
security forces, in most cases she will be rejected by society, including inlaws, husbands, neighbours and in many cases their own families. Even if
a girl is called into the local police for interrogation the community will
assume that she was [sexually abused], even if she was not, and she will
be shunned. Even the family of such a girl will be stigmatised. The victim
is abandoned by those whose support she most needs at the worst time
of her life, hence the reason not just for so many suicides attempts but
actual suicides, one witness told ITJP.

See here for full report and here for annex.