"To us all towns are one, all men our kin. |
"To us all towns are one, all men our kin. |
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Sri Lanka's Genocidal War - '95 to '01
"Arbitrary arrests and detention in Vavuniya continue to cause concern. In early September, the Vavuniya magistrate warned the police Counter Subversive Unit (CSU) that the court’s permission must be obtained for re-arrests. Ponnuthurai Sathanantharajah was held by the CSU from 27 June but was released by court on 2 September. He was re-arrested on 4 September within the court premises.
The Human Rights Commission says six young Tamils arrested by the police Special Task Force, during a search operation on 6 September are held by the CSU. Student M Chandramohan and P Suppiah are currently detained at Vavuniya Army headquarters. They were taken into custody on 1 September, while returning to Vavuniya after visiting their homes in the Vanni.
The Vavuniya court also ordered the police that the court must be informed of doubtful deaths and permission obtained for an inquest. The order follows a number of suspicious deaths, particularly of young people, caused by shooting....
In Batticaloa & Colombo
....Batticaloa people have expressed concern over the large number of killings in the east which remain uninvestigated. Over 1,070 people disappeared after June 1990 in Batticaloa District according to the Presidential Commission on Disappearances. Other reports say over 5,000 people were arrested in the district during this period.
On 5 September, a hartal (general strike) was observed in Batticaloa to commemorate the disappearance of 174 refugees arrested by the Army at the Vantharumoolai camp in September 1990 and 184 people taken into custody in Sathurukondan and other villages. No enquiry has been held into the disappearances despite repeated requests by local and international agencies. The Army failed in its attempt to force open shops in Batticaloa town. But in Valaichenai soldiers smashed the doors and forced traders to open their shops.
Amnesty International says provisions under Emergency regulations on post-mortem and inquest procedures remain wholly inadequate for the full and impartial investigation of deaths caused by the security forces. Emergency procedures could be used to bypass normal procedure and used to cover-up illegal killings.
Civilians Poobalapillai Srikanthan and Kanagasabai Karunakaran were shot dead by the police Special Task Force at Arayampathy, south of Batticaloa town, on 12 September, when returning from a temple. The Batticaloa magistrate has urged an investigation...
Six Tamil youths were arrested during a search operation in Wellawatte suburb (Colombo) in early September. Sources say five of them were waiting to travel abroad and the other is a travel agent..." (British Refugee Council, Sri Lanka Monitor September 2000)
