Disgraceful treatment of LTTE captives

By Our Correspondent in Vavuniya

(November 14, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) A military source disgusted with the behaviour of the army officials involved in the rehabilitation of surrendered LTTE cadres in a rehabilitation camp located in Mudaliyar Kulam in Vanni, confirmed to the Sri Lanka Guardian requesting anonymity that the suspected LTTE detainees are being put through harrowing and humiliating experience in the camp.

The source said the army officials have implemented strict routines in the camp. Each day starts with the hoisting of the national flag of Sri Lanka in the open space. All the detainees are made to assemble in rows in front of the flag and are ordered to give military salutes when the pre-recorded national anthem is played on the audio and then made force marching for half an hour. Army officers with batons and canes are present to ensure strict adherence to the ceremony. Those who failed to give the salutes are beaten after the ceremony in front of other inmates.

The very same routine is said to be practiced in the evening when the flag is brought down.

The source confirmed torture is a routine practice in the camp. He said there were occasions when young LTTE female cadres were taken away in the night and returned the next day morning. He further said some of them were not brought back and their fate is unknown.

The dispirited source said, provision of food for the detainees is bare minimum in the camp and there are no recreational activities to rehabilitate them.

According to the source, one disoriented detainee had said that he had attempted to commit suicide couple of times and circumstances had prevented him from doing so. He had told that he has no choice other than committing suicide as he cannot prolong with the humiliation and suffering in the camp.
-Sri Lanka Guardian
Nathan said...

Please God help those innocent tamils who were joined to fight with out any other choice, and punish those people how are torturing them. I think the guilty party is not the singhala army, the Indian government, chinese, parkistan and many others. Hope one day all these governments will stop supporting singhala government or ....

Pearl Thevanayagam said...

I do not dispute the fact that the informant is telling the truth.
I distinctly remember when I used to go to the East for reporting i had to go through many checkpoints from Welikande onwards.
Although I had the accreditation card I was grilled very rudely by the checkpoint soldiers including women cadres, physically searched and passed through sniffer dogs.
Very often when I refuse to get down from the vehicle because I was ill from exhaustion they use sarcasm and rude language.
If this happens to a journalist licensed to carry out her duties I can only imagine what these purportedly LTTe cadres who are already a despicable lot in the eyes of the government and its forces.
I wonder why the visiting foreign dignitaries give glowing tribute to the forces that they are rehabilitating the criminal LTTE ers. Their stories are swallowed up by foreign NGOs and media and lending institutions as the IMF and World Bank.
When will the world ever learn that since independnece successive governments in power have made token gestures such as the rehabilitation they are carrying out and citing as examples a few hand-picked government cronies such as late Lakshman Kadirgamar and Douglas Devananda to show they are meting out justice and fairplay to Tamils.