“When Karuna was appointed as a MP, the Asia Pacific Director of AI , Sam Zarifi, insisted that Karuna should be investigated and punished for his war crimes. Sam Zarifi also stated that he should be investigated for the hostage taking post-1988. The writer does not condone Karuna’s crimes but would like to question Sam as to why AI offered workshops and meetings with those who should be investigated and tried for war crimes.”
by S.M.M.Bazeer
They intend to send a wire?
To the moon-to the moon
And they will set the Thames on fire
Very soon - very soon. - W.S. Gilbert (Princess Ida 1884)
(October 17, London, Sri Lanka Guardian) AI has always had a love-hate relationship with the Sri Lankan Government. Despite being “kicked out” of Sri Lanka for sometime in the late 1980’s, due to its confrontation with the former Defence Minister, the late Ranjan Wijeratna, AI did not lose its touch with Sri Lankan human right affairs, through its offices in Hong Kong. The AI’s newsletters reached us in Colombo from Honk Kong, like Mao’s literature from China. That was not the end of it; AI later, became a friend of Sri Lanka, with the advent of Chandrika Bandaranayake, and closely monitored the human right situation.
As a reputed International Human Rights organisation it has never failed to condemn the LTTE or any other armed group whenever there were alleged violations of human rights in Sri Lanka. AI is generally viewed as neutral and prompt in actions against the violators of human rights but there are also reports that AI plays a soft role, when it comes to human rights violations in Western and European countries, especially the USA and Britain. Those who allege the AI’s double standard put forward the case of arrests, torture and the killings of innocent civilians by the occupying allied forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
When the LTTE killed the Buddhist Monk of Dimbulagala Vihara in Sri Lanka, in or about 1995, AI and the LTTE got into direct confrontation. Lawrence Thilakar , the former European LTTE spokesperson based in France, defended and legitimised the killing of the Monk. Around the time, AI also alleged that the LTTE had also killed Sinhalese civilians at Kallaruwa. Nevertheless, AI ended up making their irresolute repetitive remarks, “Since May 1990, we have repeatedly raised our concerns about reports of gross abuse of human rights with the leadership of the LTTE, conveyed via you or other representatives of the LTTE outside Sri Lanka”.
In 1995, AI met the families of the 32 Muslims who were taken into custody by the LTTE between 1989 and 1991 in Jaffna, Mullaithivu and Vavuniya District. AI seemed to have conveniently forgotten the LTTE’s past human rights violations during the former General Secretary of Amnesty International; Ian Martin’s significant role as an advisor to the peace talks between the LTTE and the GOSL. Ian made no remarks about the LTTE’s past violations but patiently listened to the LTTE leaders when they levelled charges against the GOSL. Prof. G.L Peris who was the GOSL negotiator, welcomed AI’s involvement in the Peace talks. “ The government of Sri Lanka has been very happy about the participation of Amnesty International. They wrote to us, we readily agreed to their request and the involvement of Mr. Ian Martin is a matter that we have no problems with at all”. The LTTE also reciprocally accepted its involvement.
AI has made several appeals both to the GOSL and the LTTE with regards to various human rights violations and the release of the arrested and or kidnapped. It was in 1997, the writer, also brought to the attention of AI, the kidnappings of five Muslims and eight Sinhalese civilians by the LTTE at Sungavila in Polonnaruwa District, where they went into the forest to saw timber, on the 22nd of June 1996. The writer took this incident with the AI albeit being late to issue urgent appeals to the LTTE followed by a public appeal made by the families of the kidnapped. The writer submitted affidavits from the Muslim families of the kidnapped and urged the AI to issue an urgent appeal to the LTTE for their release. Instead, a caseworker of AI in London (who I mention here by her initials KG) sent me copies of AI’s earlier urgent appeal with regards to the pervious kidnapping of some Muslims and Sinhalese civilians in Trincomalee. However, the LTTE later released them following AI’s appeal. The LTTE sensed the mood of the human rights organisation through their Diaspora Human rights activist and played a game of deception by releasing the kidnapped and child soldiers. The writer has witnessed such reflections in London among the so-called Tamil Human rights activists. The writer also attached a copy of the newspaper (Thinamurasu, January 18-24, 1998) that conveyed the families’ pleas to the LTTE. The families in their request to the LTTE, referred to the release of the Muslims and Sinhalese civilians who were kidnapped and later released by the LTTE in Trincomalee, and implored them to follow suit. The AI caseworker that I contacted sent me a note, thanking me for information and forwarded their urgent appeal with regard to the release of those who were kidnapped in Trincomalee. Nevertheless, as far as the writer knows , AI did not issue any statements or appeals to the LTTE requesting the release of those who were kidnapped in Sungavila.
Ian Martin who represented various world human rights organisations frequently visited the LTTE head quarters in Killinochi and listened to their grievances as victims of the GOSL. He met the LTTE’s police head, political head and the Correction officer. He also held meetings for the LTTE’s judges and conducted workshops for them on human rights issues. Ian was shown the skeletons and other human remains recovered from areas of Vanni, of individuals killed by the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) during their occupation. He was also taken to the areas where the arrested were held in custody and explained the procedures executed by the LTTE during inquiries. The Chief of the Corrections Officer of the LTTE, despite claiming, the LTTE had a de- facto state, he displayed that they had no prisons but only “correction areas” and correction officers. It was reported that Ian Martin had been satisfied with the treatment of “correctable people” who were in the LTTE’s custody. “Prison“ was out of question, in the de-facto LTTE state. Perhaps, in comparison, Ian may have thought the “treatment of prisoners by terrorists were relatively better than the treatment of terror suspects in Guantanamo Bay, by the Americans who designated the LTTE as foreign terrorists. Ironically Ian was assigned to the peace process in Nepal where he played a significant role in which Maoist, Pushpa Kamal Dehal Prachanda became the Prime Minister with his blood stained hands. Prachandra admitted this allegation in response to a question posed by the BBC journalist;-
“Do you ever feel that you hands are stained with blood?
Sometimes in the event of grave mistakes on our part, I was emotional. But what is more important is the great process of transformation and the class, ethnic, regional and gender consciousness which have come about through our movement. So I do not feel the need to repent.”
The writer does not condone any human rights violations of anyone but wonders why AI have not adopted a standard, which is firm and fair. AI’s former chief had even dealt with the former “terrorist” (Prachandra ) by brushing aside his human rights violations and war crimes in bringing about a democratic change. Yet AI ( Sam Zarifi) failed to paint a former “terrorist” with the same brush.
When, Ian Martin, met Tamil Chelvan in Killinochi, he acknowledged the basic right of those who were expelled from their homes in the High Security Zones, but could have reminded Tamil Chelvan about the Muslims who were denied rights to their homes by the LTTE; "Unfettered access to homes is a basic human right of the IDPs" (Internally Displaced People”. Nor did he ask about the skeletons or remains of the 32 Muslims who were kidnapped by the LTTE.
It is interesting that Ian Martin consulted a Tamil human rights activist in London before he left for Sri Lanka. It is learnt that he sought advice as to how to handle the situation with the GOSL and the LTTE. The Tamil human rights activist, who Ian consulted, was a LTTE supporter in the guise of a human rights worker who always defended Pirabakaran.. He used to call Pirabakaran, “ Thamby ”(younger brother) and has had contact with the LTTE leaders. Nevertheless, he has always drawn a definitive line between his public human rights work and his innate LTTE support. He even freely mixes with Sinhalese and Muslims alike. It cannot be denied he is a good man with decency and decorum. However, he failed to hold his impulse when he met a Muslim delegation in Sri Lanka. He came out frankly and said that the problems of the Muslims of the north and the east would be resolved in a “ Tamil Eelam”. The writer personally observed that the majority of Tamil human rights activists were racists and LTTE sympathisers. The writer leaves it to the reader’s imagination as to what kind of “unbiased” consultation Ian would have had from the so-called “human rights activist” in London. The LTTE’s peace secretariat also admitted; “The LTTE delegation while in Europe to draft the ISGA proposals also had extensive discussions with Mr. Ian Martin on the human rights aspects in the interim arrangement.” Ian Martin or any other activist of his calibre may have to learn more about the complexity of Sri Lankan ground realities and render their help independently, without reflecting the views of the Tamils who are affluent academically, professionally and financially in the countries where the International Human rights organisations are based.
When Karuna was appointed as a MP, the Asia Pacific Director of AI , Sam Zarifi, insisted that Karuna should be investigated and punished for his war crimes. Sam Zarifi also stated that he should be investigated for the hostage taking post-1988. The writer does not condone Karuna’s crimes but would like to question Sam as to why AI offered workshops and meetings with those who should be investigated and tried for war crimes. If Sam also alleged that Karuna had committed a crime of hostage taking from 1988, onwards, why did AI not persuade the British government to try him for the alleged offences when he was in the hands of the British authorities. Ironically, AI also sought Karuna’s assurance during the General elections in 2004 to conduct a free and fair election in the Batticaloa District at a time when Karuna was on the verge of leaving the LTTE, in which during the election campaign Mounagurusamy, former GA of Baticaloa was shot by the Wanni faction of the LTTE for siding with Karuna.
" We welcome the assurance given by the LTTE military leader, Colonel Karuna, at a meeting with Major General (retd) Trond Furuhovde, head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM), on 11 February in Batticaloa, that the LTTE would continue to respect the cease-fire and would not resort to violence or interfere in elections in the east," said Amnesty International.
" In view of the vacuum in the provision of law and order in the northeast until agreed interim administration arrangements are established, we are appealing to the government and the LTTE to ensure the right to freedom of movement and right to freedom of assembly and association in areas under their control during the election period."
It seems, that given AI’s diagnosis and it’s temporary episodes of selective amnesia, it’s only prognosis now, is to review it’s strategies and uphold firm policies at all times against all those violators of human rights. Let’s hope it’s a speedy recovery!! - Sri Lanka Guardian
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