War-affected Tamil observe Human Rights Day as ‘Black Day’

War-affected Tamil mothers struggling to find their loved ones who disappeared have accused the new regime under President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka of adopting the same old principle of vote bank politics. Renewing the Office for Missing Persons (OMP), which has been rejected outright by the Tamils as a 'sham', is an example of that vote bank politics they say.

The ARED-Association for the Relatives of the Enforced Disappearances in the North and East Provinces, a civil society group created to search for the tens of thousands of people who disappeared during Sri Lanka’s armed conflict, while continuing their protest and demand for an international investigation and justice mechanism to find out the fate of their disappeared relatives, observed the International Human Rights Day (10 December) as a ‘Black Day’ in all the 8 districts of the North and East.

This is the first International Human Rights Day observed in Sri Lanka after AKD was elected President and a new NPP government came to power.

In connection with the 76th International Human Rights Day, the ARED led by their secretary Leeladevi Anandanadarasa went on a rally from the Killinochi Hospital area and ended it in front of the regional office of the OMP and staged a protest there.

Even as the ARED protest has continued for 8 years now, the OMP established by an Act of the Parliament has not even found one person so far, Leeladevi Anandarasa told local journalists and calling for applications for new members for that office and reviving it is deeply hurting.

“The new government which came to power with the slogan of ‘change’ is approaching enforced disappearances, an important issue of the Tamils in the same way as the previous Sinhala governments. We have rejected the OMP and have suspicions with regard to recruitment for that office. It is very clear this government is also interested in satisfying its vote bank like the earlier governments.”

The OMP established in 2016 has called for applications to fill up certain member posts in their office. The advertisement for filling up those posts has been published based on the Act, in particular regarding the establishment of the office, administering, and managing day-to-day activities. The Department of Parliamentary Affairs announced recently that people who fulfill the required qualifications have been asked to apply.

ARED members in Vavuniya also organized a rally from the Kanthasamy Kovil to the Vavuniya bus station, carrying fire pots on their heads. The rally and protest were led by the association’s district president Sivananthan Jenita.

She stressed before they die, justice should be rendered to all the mothers who are seeking the truth. Also, Jenita demanded the perpetrators responsible for enforced disappearances should be made to stand trial through an international judicial process as demanded by the protesting mothers.

“We demand those responsible for heinous crimes including enforced disappearance be brought to face trial through an international justice mechanism. But that justice rendering has been denied time and again. We have been fighting for justice ever since the war ended. However, more than 300 parents have died without getting an answer. So, we request that justice be rendered before we the witnesses also die”.

In the most war-affected Mullaitivu district, the protest on International Human Rights Day by the ARED led by its local president Mariasuresh Eswary was held in front of the Mullaitivu District Secretariat.

Vanni district MP representing the Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi, Thurairasa Raviharan also participated in the protest at Mullitivu. Speaking at the protest meeting the MP said the state intelligence agencies continue to threaten the Tamil people who seek justice and till such time the Tamils in the North and East get that justice, the Human Rights Day will be only a Black Day.

“The International Human Rights Day is not for the Tamils. Tamils don’t have that rights. They are being oppressed in the North and East and intimidated. Intelligence is threatening, Police are arresting them. In such a scenario is this Human Rights Day needed? We strongly send the message to the international community this day is a Black Day for us. Until the Tamils in the North and East get their rights Human Rights Day will be a Black Day”.

ARED staged a protest in front of the Public library in Jaffna seeking justice for their relatives. Leading the protest Sivapatham Ilankothai, district president of the ARED said all the institutions formed by the government to find out the fate of their enforced disappeared relatives are ineffective and accused them as useless.

“We have been watching and waiting all these times. That commission, this commission, that mechanism, this mechanism, Reconciliation commission, OMP, and many more. None of them have resolved our problems so far or addressed our issues. We gave details of five persons to the OMP and asked to find them. If they do that, we said we would believe the OMP. They even lost the documents that we gave them. Then what OMP, what reconciliation? We need nothing”.

Mannar district ARED president Manuel Uthayachandra raised the question about what happened to their children who were handed over to the security forces when they were alive. Leading the protest in that district in front of the district secretariat, she asked why the Human Rights organizations were not raising this question with the International communities.

“In our old age, we should live in peace. We handed over our children in good faith, hoping they would come back. We are not fighting for the children who were dead. We are fighting for the children who were handed over alive. Why are not Human Rights organizations raising this with the International communities?”

Political leaders including Jaffna district MP and leader of the Tamil National People’s Front Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam participated in the protest held at Mannar.

In the Eastern districts of Batticaloa, Trincomalee, and Amparai also, protest rallies and meetings were held on International Human Rights Day organized by the ARED, seeking justice for those who were victims of enforced disappearance.

Batticaloa district ARED president Amalanayaki Amalraj led the protest rally in that district which began from near the ‘Thanthai Selva’ memorial park.

She appealed to the authorities to let them know about the fate of their blood relatives also saying the Tamil mothers are deeply traumatized due to the investigations by the security forces.

“We say this military took our relatives from this military camp. And without inquiring into that the already traumatized mothers are being inquired increasing our mental agony. One by one many of us are getting sick and dying. Justice should be rendered to us without any further delay. Our relatives should be handed over back. Otherwise, we should be informed what happened to them”.

In Amparai the protest rally on the occasion of International Human Rights Day was held near the clock tower. The district president of ARED Amparai Tambirasa Selvarani who led the protest there raised doubt if Sri Lanka stands in the first place in the list of enforced disappearances.

“We don’t have faith in internal mechanisms. They are trying to impose many internal mechanisms on us. We have lost 149,679 persons during the final phase of the war. Not only that, Sri Lanka stands at the second place in the list of enforced disappearances. If we calculate the deaths of our people, our relatives, doubts arise within us if Sri Lanka is in the first place”.

District president of ARED in Trincomalee K. Sebastin Devi led the protest in front of the Trincomalee District Secretariat where similar demands were made and seeking speedy rendering of justice to the war-affected Tamil mothers through an international mechanism and rejecting the OMP.

By, SivaRamaKrushnan

Senior Journalist Former News Editor BBC Tamilosai And Human Rights Activist