TID harassing war crimes victims

| by A Special Correspondent in Colombo

(November 01, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) According to news reaching Sri Lanka Guardian, relatives of the LTTE senior activists who were presumed killed in captivity by the security forces are said to be harassed by the Terrorism Investigation Department (TID) of the Ministry of Defence.

File Photo

The TID is visiting the relatives of the LTTE men and women surrendered to the army at the end of the war in May 2009. These surrendered Tamil Tigers were taken away in bus loads to unknown destinations and their whereabouts are still not known.

The sudden surge of activity by the TID comes at the time when the government is claiming that bulk of Tamils Tigers have been released.

It is unclear why the relatives are being harassed. TID is said to be inquiring about the extent of the military engagement of the LTTE leaders. They are threatening dire consequence if sufficient information is forthcoming.

About 58 LTTE leaders including Laurence Thilagar, V Balakumar, Yogi Yogaratnam, Thangan, Ilam Parithy, Eilan, Puvanan, Gannam, Papa and Puthuvai Rathnathurai were taken away in the bus loads. Fates of those surrendered is still not known to the relatives except for the government Minister D E W Guneratne publicly stating that Yogaratnam Yogi and Balakumar were killed in the battle front when eye witness account confirm that they were part of those surrendered to the army in Vanni. It was also reported in the media that Papa is working as an intelligence officer for the TID to nick LTTE sympathisers going through the Katunayake International Airport.

K.V. Balakumaran and Yogaratnam Yogi

One relative said that intense of the investigation is so worrying that it could be that the TID is attempting to intimidate the relatives to keep silent about the missing persons.

It is believed that most of the hardcore LTTE leadership surrendered to the government forces have been tortured and murdered by the security forces.

Release of the LLRC report on the 15 November 2011 is expected to be one of the cause of TID investigation as the report is not expected carry any comments about the surrendered leadership of the LTTE. It is believed, TID is putting pressure on the relatives to maintain silence about the whereabouts of their relatives taken into captivity when the report is released.