US embassy cable - 03COLOMBO331

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000331 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SA, SA/INS 
 
E.O. 12958:  DECL:  02-27-13 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, CE, Human Rights 
SUBJECT:  Human rights update:  GSL pursues human rights 
cases, LTTE shows halting human rights improvements 
 
Ref:  Colombo 147 and previous 
 
(U) Classified by Lewis Amselem, Deputy Chief of 
Mission.  Reasons 1.5 (b, d) 
 
1.  (C) Summary:  Although the Sri Lankan government 
continues to pursue human rights cases through its 
judicial system, reports of torture in custody continue. 
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), meanwhile, 
is doing little to improve its human rights record.  The 
high visibility issue of the LTTE recruiting children 
remains an issue despite promises to the contrary.  End 
Summary. 
 
GSL 
=== 
 
2.  (SBU) The Sri Lankan government continues to pursue a 
number of high profile human rights related court cases, 
including: 
 
Mirusuvil Massacre Case:  The case centers on the 
abduction of 9 Tamil civilians by Sri Lanka Army 
personnel.  Eight of the Tamils abducted were killed and 
five soldiers are charged with their murders.  The most 
recent hearing was on February 17.  During the hearing 
the sole survivor of nine Tamil civilians that had been 
abducted gave testimony of events prior to his escape. 
Fifty-six further witnesses are scheduled to testify. 
 
Bindunuwewa Massacre Case:  In October 2000, 27 Tamils 
held at the Bindunuwewa rehabilitation camp for former 
child soldiers were killed while police allegedly looked 
on.  In May 2001, a court case against 51 suspects began 
with the reading of 83 charges.  The next court hearing 
is scheduled for March 10.  In conjunction with the 
hearing, the court has agreed to accept written 
submissions of testimony by the accused. 
 
Kandy Election Day Killings:  Anuruddha Ratwatte, the 
former Defense Minister and a relative of President 
Kumaratunga, along with his two sons and thirteen other 
defendants, including security force personnel, have 
been accused of murdering ten Muslim campaign workers on 
election day December 5, 2001.  Ratwatte allegedly 
directed the killings.  The trial-at-bar into this case 
has been hearing testimony for the past two weeks and is 
scheduled to continue on a daily basis until all 
evidence has been presented.  On February 17 Commander 
of the Army Lt. General Lionel Balagalle testified on 
behalf of the prosecutors, claiming that Ratwatte was 
using soldiers for his personal gain.  (Note:  A trial- 
at-bar replaces a jury with three high court judges with 
the intended effect of speeding up the trial process and 
limiting the possibility of harassing witnesses.) 
 
3.  (SBU) Human rights observers are reporting that Anton 
Michael, a local human rights activist was assaulted by 
prison guards while he was in custody.  While attending 
court for another issue on February 6, Michael was 
reportedly found in contempt of court and sentenced to 
one-year imprisonment.  He reportedly suffered spinal 
injuries at the hands of the prison guards on February 
10.  The Minister of Interior and the Prime Minister's 
office have ordered investigations into the incident. 
Prison officials have claimed that Michael attacked the 
prison guards and was injured when they had to 
forcefully subdue him. 
 
4.  (SBU) On October 20, 2002 Ranjith Karunaratne died 
under questionable circumstances while being transported 
to a police station.  He was arrested for his alleged 
involvement in theft rings.  On February 19 six police 
officers were arrested by the Criminal Investigation 
Division (CID) for their alleged involvement in 
Karunaratne's death. 
 
LTTE 
==== 
 
5.  (C) During the fifth round of peace talks, held in 
Berlin, the LTTE agreed to work with UNICEF to end child 
recruitment.  In reference to this agreement, on 
February 20 Inspector General of Police T.E. Anandarajah 
announced that the LTTE have released 110 children of 
the 136 reported abducted between April 2002 and January 
2003.  Deputy Head of the ICRC Delegation Catherine 
Gendre stated, however, that the press statement just 
reviewed old cases and only covered a fraction of the 
cases reported in other sources.  The SLMM, for example, 
received reports of almost 600 abduction cases during 
that time frame.  In addition, indications are that the 
LTTE continues to forcibly recruit children in eastern 
Sri Lanka. 
 
6.  (C) The LTTE also continues to detain two Sri Lankan 
Security Force Personnel.  The LTTE has permitted the 
ICRC to meet with the soldier on one occasion.  The ICRC 
has not yet been able to meet with the police officer, 
despite its request to do so.  Hagrup Haukland, Deputy 
Head of Mission for the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission has 
been in regular contact with the LTTE on its detention 
of the two Sri Lankan security force personnel, and has 
repeatedly urged the LTTE to release the captives.  He 
stated that the LTTE recently agreed to release the two 
in the near future and that based on similar promises in 
the past he expects that the two will likely be released 
within the next two to three days.  The LTTE has been 
holding the soldier since December 24, 2002 and the 
police officer since February 20. 
 
Comment 
======= 
 
7.  (SBU) The cases reviewed above show a trend that more 
and more human rights observers are commenting on in 
Colombo.  While the GSL has a fair share of human rights 
related problems, particularly torture in police 
custody, it is taking steps to address the issues.  At 
the same time, the LTTE is making positive 
pronouncements on its intentions to abide by 
international human rights standards, but has yet to 
deliver on many of those promises.  End Comment. 
 
8.  (U)  Minimize considered. 
 
WILLS