Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances

Rms. 310-311 Philippine Social Science Center Building Commonwealth Avenue, Diliman, 1103 Quezon City Philippines Telefax: 00-632-4546759 Telephone Number 00-632-4907862 Mobile 00-63-9177924058 Email afad@surfshop.net.ph website www.afad-online.org

AFAD STATEMENT 10 March 2013

Adding more insult and injury: Sri Lankan police blocks families of the disappeared in North Sri Lanka to attend Colombo protest The Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) strongly condemns the Sri Lankas police and military forces halting of the families of the disappeared and human rights defenders in North Sri Lanka from travelling to join a protest action in Colombo. A mobilization of 600 people gathered in Vavuniya on 5 March to demand for truth and justice for their disappeared kin in a protest action organized by the Association of the Families Searching for the Disappeared Relatives set on the following day. The families initially intended to submit a petition to the UN office in Colombo to determine the fate of their loved ones. As the contingent started to assemble in the Vavuniya Urban Council (UC) Grounds, men in civil clothes started questioning the protesters about the purpose of their assembly, the identity of the organizers, funding sources, among others. The police demanded for the details of the 11 buses parked at the UC grounds and then allowed for the buses to proceed to Colombo. When the protesters started pulling out from the UC grounds at 8:30 p.m., the police halted the buses and claimed that they received reports that a bus was stoned between Vavuniya and Anuradhapura. Based on the security concern, police trucks started blocking the path of the buses. An estimate of the 75% of the family members were women coming from Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaithivu, and Vavuniya districts. Families of the disappeared and human rights defenders seeking for truth behind the thousands of disappeared in Sri Lanka have been subjected to varying forms and degrees of security risks. The disappearance of human rights defender Lalith Weeraraj on 9 December 2011 was primarily traced to his documentation and campaigning for the disappeared Tamils in Trincomalee, Mannar, Vavuniya, Killinochchi and Jaffna Districts. Another human rights defender was subjected to surveillance and threats after leading and participating in the protest action for the disappeared journalist, Prageeth Ekneligoda on 14 January 2013. Sandya Ekneligoda, Prageeths wife has also suffered from intense persecution of the Sri Lankan government when she asserts for truth and justice for the disappeared before the international community. In November 2012, families of the disappeared and human rights defenders in Negombo were detained for a few hours by members of the Sri Lankan police force after participating in an activity dedicated to the disappeared in Sri Lanka. Even the Monument for the Disappeared Persons in the Raddolugama-Seeduwa junction in Gampaha district was not spared. The Parish Priest of St. Cecilias Church had requested the Sri Lankan police to

demolish the internationally and locally recognized Monument where families, human rights defenders and political figures from across the country commemorate Sri Lankas disappeared every 27 October. The mentioned incidents are among the high-profile cases that had sufficient media mileage. Still, there are thousands of stories left untold where families have struggled with disappearances, the search, and the governments inaction and utmost disrespect for their loved ones. Stories of grief are waiting to be expressed through public venues, actions and engagement with government authorities. The blocking of the 600 family members and human rights defenders from participating in the Colombo protest not only violated their rights to peaceful assembly but also signified the glaring reality that for several years, the struggle for truth and justice has been systematically blocked by the Sri Lankan government. The truth is prevented from reaching the public, using different means and resources necessary to demoralize the families and human rights defenders from finding the truth and abandoning the search for justice. The AFAD stands with the families and other civil society organizations in Sri Lanka in their struggle to determine the fate of the disappeared, the investigation and prosecution of guilty parties, and the persistent clamor to end the systematic assault of the government to the peoples right to peaceful assembly, freedom of expression and opinion, the right to truth, justice and reparation.

Signed by:

Mary Aileen D. Bacalso Secretary General

Mugiyanto Chairperson