All Eyes On The Northern Front

By Easwaran Rutnam- Sunday, November 03, 2013

Jaffn a, on the surface, seemed to be returning to normalcy with the successful conclusion of provincial elections. However recent incidents have shown that the situation is far from being normal and may spiral out of control if not arrested. !he discovery of a corpse of a woman at the "achiyar Hindu !emple at ##$ road in Jaffna recently sent shoc%waves among the public. &evotees who had visited the !emple on 'ctober () got a bad stench and they investigated where the stench was coming from and found the badly decomposed body of the woman in a corner. !he face of the victim had mar%s and they were similar to ones some may get due to an assault. !he police later identified the victim as a resident of *avuniya. Jaffna police said that the woman was mentally retarded and she was staying with her relatives in +riyalai, Jaffna. Her relatives had reported that she was missing from early last month and after several days her body was found at the !emple. ,hile the dust was about to settle on that discovery the Jaffna media reported that another dead body of a woman was also found days later. !he -.-year-old woman, /dentified as +mirthaalingham 0aithalai, was found dead in 1uttur a day after she was reported missing from her home. $he had reportedly received a telephone call last !uesday night while she was watching television. $he had then stepped out but never returned. Her body was found inside a well the ne2t day. !he police are investigating the circumstances that led to her death. +rmy vs !"+ !he !amil "ational +lliance 3!"+4 claims soldiers are mostly dressed in civvies and roam among the general public. !he +rmy and the !"+ came head to head last wee% when a group of !"+ members confronted soldiers who were demolishing houses in *ali%amam "orth in Jaffna. !"+ 01 E. $arawanabavan told !he $unday 5eader that the soldiers were clearing the land

despite over (666 cases being filed against it. !he army is ta%ing things into their hands. !hey are not following the law. /f this continues, we will need to turn to the international court, he said. He 7uestioned why the army re7uires over 8666 acres of land in a civilian populated area. !he 01 also claimed that the army had warned a group of 9ournalists who had accompanied him and some provincial councilors when they went to inspect the clearing of the land. ,e got the impression that families of soldiers are to be settled on this land, he added. $arawanabavan emphasised that the !"+ and the !amils as a whole have no concerns over $inhalese people being settled in Jaffna as long as the lands are their own property. ,e have an issue with colonisation. !hat is wrong, he said. He also said that the environment for the media in Jaffna is also unsafe in light of the heavy army presence despite the end of the war. +rmy not involved However, the army denied allegations that troops in large numbers are responsible for se2ual violence, se2ual harassment, abuse, e2ploitation and other types of violence against women and girls. +rmy spo%esman Brigadier Ruwan ,anigasooriya said that there have been repeated attempts to draw a non-e2istent correlation between the presence of the military in the "orth and insecurity of women and girls in that region. He said that during the conflict 3January -66. : 0ay -66;4, seven $ecurity <orces personnel were reported as being involved in five se2ual violence incidents in the "orth. !his is out of a total of (-= persons accused in ((; incidents for the entirety of the "orthern 1rovince. !he ethnicity of the victims of these cases is > $inhalese and ( !amil. !he army spo%esman says, in the post conflict period 30ay -66; : 0ay -6(-4, (6 $ecurity <orces personnel were reported being involved in 8 se2ual violence incidents in the "orth. !his is out of a total of ?6. persons accused in -=8 incidents for the entire "orthern 1rovince. !he ethnicity of the victims is - !amil, ( 0uslim and ? $inhalese. 5egal action has been ta%en by the @overnment in all of the above cases in which the $ri 5an%an $ecurity <orces personnel have been involved. !he military has ta%en strict action to either discharge or to give other punishments to these personnel. <urthermore, cases have also been filed in civil courts, some of which are pending in Aourts while some are with the +ttorney @eneralBs &epartment, the army spo%esman said. He says the inference that the presence of the military contributes to insecurity of women and girls in the former conflict affected areas is baseless.

!his is a part of yet another attempt by those with vested interests to propagate a culture of fear and apprehension amongst the people of the "orth with regard to the presence of the military in those areas, the army spo%esman added. !he spo%esman insisted that the +rmed <orces do not condone such acts of violence against women and girls and has ta%en concrete action against reported cases. Jaffna on AH'@0 schedule 0eanwhile the British government says it will press the $ri 5an%aBs @overnment to investigate all human rights abuses, including the shoc%ing allegations of se2ual violence committed during and after the conflict. C# <oreign $ecretary ,illiam Hague says he and 1rime 0inister &avid Aameron will urge the government to allow free e2pression and to stop intimidation against 9ournalists and also bring about reconciliation and political reform. /t is important that we give that message to them in person, he said. 1rime 0inister &avid Aameron and the C# <oreign $ecretary will be visiting $ri 5an%a ne2t month for the Aommonwealth Heads of @overnment 0eeting 3AH'@04. !he 1rime 0inister and / will visit the north of $ri 5an%a to see ourselves what is happening. ,e will press the $ri 5an%an @overnment to investigate all human rights abuses, including the shoc%ing allegations of se2ual violence committed dung and after the conflict. ,e will urge them to allow free e2pression and to stop intimidation against 9ournalists, and call on them to bring about reconciliation and political reform. /t is important that we give that message to them in person, ,illiam Hague said. "ew Dealand <oreign +ffairs 0inister 0urray 0cAully said he will also travel to the "orth to see first-hand civilian life since the end of the countryBs long civil war in -66;. "ew Dealand has a strong interest in the progress being made on reconciliation and devolution in the "orth and / will report bac% to the 1rime 0inister 3John #ey4 on the situation there ahead of the AH'@0 5eaderBs Retreat, 0cAully said in a statement. AH'@0 sets the AommonwealthBs agenda for the coming two years, and with =? member states home to more than - billion people, a number of significant global issues will be up for discussion. !he <oreign $ecretary said that there have been some steps forward in $ri 5an%a, which need to be recognised, including the northern provincial council elections that too% place in $eptember. !hey were generally peaceful and well-regarded, but all the issues / listed remain. ,hile there have been some steps forward, many more are needed. !here are many serious criticisms, including in our own reports, of the human rights record in $ri 5an%a. 'f course these are issues that we want to ta%e up in $ri 5an%a. !he Aommonwealth Heads of @overnment meeting however will consider matters such as the future of the millennium development goals, e2panding international trade and upholding human rights in other parts of the world. ,e need to be present at those discussions with a 7uarter of the globe. ,e also need to recognise that the conse7uences for the Aommonwealth of the Cnited #ingdom not attending a Aommonwealth Heads of @overnment meeting would be very serious and could be long term. !hat is why it is important, and that is why we decided to be there at the table, as well as raising the concerns so well e2pressed in this House, he said.