Amy officers raping a nine year old girl; Can the new army commander maintain army discipline?

Diary of Terror – Part 14, February 23, 2010

Sri Lankan Human Rights Watch

(February 23, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) A nine-year-old girl studying in the 5th Grade was raped by soldiers attached to the Digiliwatiya Camp at Batticaloa. The victim is a student of the Sinthandiya School at Digiliwatiya.The rape has led to protests by the villagers of the area which in turn has led to retaliation on the part of the soldiers from the camp who have ridden into the village on their motorcycles to harass the villagers. One of the protesters was killed and his body found in a pond near the army camp.

According to reports the nine-year-old girl was returning home in the company of two of her friends when soldiers bathing near a well chased after her and raped her. The girl was admitted to a hospital and the medical reports confirmed that she had been sexually abused. It is also reported that the girl who is still being treated at the hospital is being questioned constantly by commando officers.

There have been continuous and ongoing protests about the behaviour of the soldiers of the camp towards the villagers. One of the villagers, Chandrasekaran Sugabalan, a 35-year-old man who participated in the protests has been killed and his body found in a pond near Digiliwatiya.

Inquiries are continuing into the rape and about 48 soldiers are due to be produced before the Magistrate for an identification parade.

The question of the soldiers attacking villagers and even engaging in the rape of a child indicates a significant loss of discipline among the soldiers of this camp. When the discipline has deteriorated to such an extent it is not enough to conduct inquiries into a single case of rape; it is essential that the military itself conducts inquiries into the breakdown of discipline in this camp. The three soldiers engaging in the rape of a girl, followed by attacks on the villagers resulting in the death of a man reveals an extremely serious incident which affects the relationship between civilians and the military. The man who was killed was a Tamil civilian which also indicates that the girl and the villagers involved are also from the Tamil community. Thus, the breakdown in the relationship with the minorities who are supposed to be under the protection of the military is itself an example of the breakdown in military discipline.

Under these circumstances there should be inquiries into the activities of the officers in charge of the camp and how the command responsibility is exercised.

One of the duties of the new army commander is obviously to enforce discipline within the armed forces, particularly in relation to the minorities living in the north and the east. The government talks about bring about a spirit of reconciliation and peace and that is not possible if the behaviour of the armed forces continue in this manner.

A deeper problem of army discipline could arise under the present circumstances when the army commander himself is involved in the arrest and detention of the former commander of the armed forces, retired general Sarath Fonseka. All kinds of allegations have been made against the former army commander which the soldiers in the country now know to be totally false. Such allegations were that he was involved in a plot to kill the president and his family; that he was involved in an attempted coup to overthrow the government and that with a group of other soldiers he was engaged in acts of violence against the government. All these allegations have now proved to be absolutely false. Meanwhile, other senior officers of the armed forces are also being forced to retire purely for political reasons. The overall situation does not contribute to a healthy mentality within the armed forces. Once they see the abuse of power at the top layers of the military due to the politicisation of the hierarchy this will lead to the demoralisation of the armed forces. Once demoralisation enters the armed forces the maintenance of discipline will become extremely difficult. Under these circumstances the soldiers may begin to behave in any manner they wish and engage in the type of activities which include the rape of this young girl, the murder of the young man and the harassment of the villagers they are supposed to be protecting. This kind of breakdown in discipline should be a question that goes to the very heart of the leadership of the new commander of the army and its ability to maintain a high level of moral under the present circumstances.

Police killing at Inginiyagala

A 39-year-old man, Saman Thilakasiri, was told to report to the police station at Inginiyagala and did so accordingly. However, the following day his body was found at a water reserve in the same area, the Senanayake Water Reserve. The news of his death has led to enormous protests in the area. A large number of people gathered at and attached the police station at Inginiyagala. They burned tires in the roads and engaged in many other forms of protest against his death. The widespread nature of the protests led to the reinforcement of the Inginiyagala police by officers being brought in from other police stations in order to control the protesters.

The police reported that while Mr. Thilakasiri was being taken to the station in a police jeep he escaped by jumping into the water reserve. The story has been rejected by the villagers as a fabrication for the purpose of exonerating the officers.

Mr. Thilakasiri, was a farmer and father of two school-going children. The problem of arrest leading to torture and ending up in a custodial death is a common feature at many Sri Lankan police stations. Several glaring examples of deaths at police stations have come to light in recent times and have caused scandals. In many places the people in the villages have protested at the local police stations when such deaths occur.

The Inspector General of Police has not taken any resolute action to deal with the constant use of torture at police stations or the issue of custodial deaths. While individual cases are sometimes prosecuted in courts, mostly due to public outcry the police department has not developed any kind of serious to the stopping of these widespread practices. Quite clearly, the command responsibility lies with the Inspector General of Police and his deputies to put out clear guidelines in matters relating to arrest and the supervision of staff. But most of the time what happens is that once these deaths take place fabricated stories are produced and often the police hierarchy themselves get involved in supporting the police version of the events. There is a clear failure on the part of the Inspector General of Police to maintain discipline in police stations.

The case of Sivakumar Ballawannum, who was killed at the Bambilipitiya Sea by a group of policemen that pursued him into the surf in an attempt to arrest him, exposed the type of brutality that goes with policing in Sri Lanka. The Inspector General of Police and the government have been ignoring this problem for a long time.