Tamils targeted by security rules

"As in Kandy now, it is the people that are hidden. The author of the email mentioned above asks whether there is anything that can be done legally about the present situation. It is a desperate request for an effective response to untenable circumstances."
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by Basil Fernando

( March 08, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka Guardian) Last week a resident of Kandy, Sri Lanka, sent an email to many people asking for advice about the legality of security measures recently introduced in the city, which is located in the hilly central part of the country. The measures appear to be targeting the Tamil population.

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Summit is scheduled to be held in Kandy from July 27-Aug. 3 this year, to be followed by the popular Buddhist festival, the Esala Perahera. Both events will bring large numbers of visitors to the city.

The email reads: "With the plans for the SAARC summit to be held in Kandy in early August with visitors arriving from late July along with the Kandy Perahera, the security situation has taken a new turn. Last week each family in the area was given three forms by the police to be filled out and returned within two days. One form has to be signed by the Grama Sevaka (the local village government servant).

"Police officers are handing over the forms personally but the instructions have not been made clear. Most of the Grama Sevakas are refusing to sign the forms of the Tamil residents and the people have no way to return the forms to the police special investigation unit.

"Arrests are being made of persons not yet registered. Six Catholic seminarians were recently arrested from their religious formation house (the major seminary for the priestly formation of Catholics is based at Ampitiya), for the reason that they were not registered. After much dialogue the police agreed to release them the following morning on police bail, without producing them in court. However they said that they will file action against the formator (priest) for not registering them and the fine is Rs 5,000 (US$46).

"The same night the news was received that the police had arrested six suspected LTTE personnel from Ampitiya, referring to these six seminarians. Several Tamil people from the vicinity were arrested and remanded for the same reason.

"In the coming months the security controls will be much worse and roads may be closed."

At the moment the Human Rights Council is meeting in Geneva and many concerns have been expressed about the situation in Sri Lanka, particularly the hardships imposed on all citizens throughout the island. With the ending of the ceasefire there are fears of violent activities in all areas and also the tightening of security. The citizens are caught up in the midst of these tensions and normal life has been interrupted dramatically.

Whether the Human Rights Council will be able to enter into a dialogue with the Sri Lankan government to help ease the situation is the question in the minds of many concerned persons. There is little expectation that such a breakthrough is possible, however.

There are those who strongly argue against any involvement of the United Nations in Sri Lanka, as fears about the United Nations acting as a colonial or imperial outpost is being propagated by some extremist elements. Some imply that any talk about resolving this problem is unpatriotic. Perhaps this is merely a reflection of the fractured mindset that is spread through the country in the midst of social conflicts that have deeply divided the people.

At the moment all discourse is so fractured that one wonders whether there is any sense of a nation left at all. The following observation from Patrick Lawrence in his book "Conversations in a Failed State" -- quoted also in earlier columns -- is quite poignant:

"This is by design. Sri Lanka does not present itself to the rest of the world as a country anymore. It is a "destination" for holiday-goers. It is a manager of beaches and resorts. It is a changer of bed linens, a sweeper of floors, a tender of bars, a waiter, a driver, a receptionist, a porter. It is not a nation with national institutions. It is not a judge, a police officer, a teacher, a tea plucker (except at a picturesque distance), a young boy with his mother, one or the other of them a victim. These people are hidden, because most of Sri Lanka is hidden. It is hidden behind all the laws and procedures that are still observed, if barely, behind all the forms that are still made out, all the chops chopped onto documents."

As in Kandy now, it is the people that are hidden. The author of the email mentioned above asks whether there is anything that can be done legally about the present situation. It is a desperate request for an effective response to untenable circumstances.

The sad truth is that nothing can be done, even if things get worse. Portraying the United Nations as an imperial power trying to extend the colonial grip once again only creates a greater sense of helplessness among the people. Perhaps this is the aim of those who engage in such propaganda.

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(Basil Fernando is director of the Asian Human Rights Commission based in Hong Kong. He is a Sri Lankan lawyer who has also been a senior U.N. human rights officer in Cambodia. He has published several books and written extensively on human rights issues in Asia.)

- Sri Lanka Guardian