Mob disrupts meeting of

families of disappeared: Police

& Government hound
participants
by WATCH!G
" on #$%#&%'#()
*amilies of the disappeared from the
+orthern Province, gathered in Colombo on )th August '#(), at '-.#pm, at
the Centre for /ociety&0eligion 1C/02, 3hich is a Church 1!blates of Mary
4mmaculate 5 !M42 run institution situated in the premises of a Catholic
Church- The gathering 3as to share their e6periences and struggles 3ith
those 3ho have been sympathetic and supportive to them, such as
representatives of civil society organi7ations, Christian clergy, la3yers and
diplomats-
*amilies had met 3ith the 4nternational Committee of the 0ed Cross 14C0C2
in Colombo that morning 1)th2 at around (#am, to follo3"up on their
previous complaints, as the Government had compelled the 4C0C to close
their o8ces in the +orth-
4n addition, follo3ing the meeting at C/0, these families 3ere also meant to
e6change e6periences 3ith a group of mothers from the /outh 3hose
children have also been 9illed or disappeared- Ho3ever, that session had to
be cancelled due to the disruption of the C/0 meeting by an abusive mob,
and refusal of the Police to provide protection to the participants-
isruption of the meeting:
Around .-(:pm on )th August, 3hen a mother 3hose son had disappeared
3as sharing her story, a mob of about )# persons, including about $ in
;uddhist Mon9 robes, forcibly stormed<(= into the C/0 building and
attempted to brea9 into the meeting room- Many of the organi7ers and
participants tried to bloc9 the mob from entering the room, and heated
arguments ensured-
The mob hurled abuse and false allegations at the organi7ers and
participants of the meeting, labeling them as >TT? 1terrorist2 supporters,
trying to discredit the Government by 3ay of supporting an international
3ar crimes in@uiry-
We have also lost our children- Why arenAt you listening to our storiesB We
also 3ant to come and Coin your meeting- Why are you conducting your
meeting inside a room in secretB Dou ta9e foreign +G! money and bring
disrepute to your country, arenAt you ashamed of yourselvesB o you need
to stoop to this level to earn a livingB DouAre parta9ing in terrorist activityE
DouAll are begging money from the West to 3or9 3ith these >TT? families-
Dou are all roguesE 4n e6change for millions of dollars, you are 3or9ing
against the /inhalese- Allegations of 3ar crimes aFect all the people of /ri
>an9a, not Cust these families- Dou Glthy dogsEH hollered the mob rabidly<'=-
DouAre a bloody TigerE 1/creamed a mon9 pointing directly at *r- M-
/athivel, a participant 3ho 3as in the forefront of stopping the mob from
entering the meeting room2- Another man pointed at ;rito *ernando 13ho
3as the main organi7er2 and said I4 9no3 all about this man- He ma9es his
money by collecting '# rupees each from young girls in Jatunaya9e<.=EH
Thereafter, they directed their focus on the +orthern families and 3ith
feigned interest for their 3ellbeing stated, IWe feel so sorry for you
families- onAt get hood3in9ed by them- They are using you to get dollars
from America- They are selling you innocent peopleAs suFering for money-
DouAll 3ere saved by our forces- The /ri >an9an forces- onAt forget thatEH
/ome persons in the mob 3ho claimed that they too had family members
3ho had disappeared, insisted on Coining the meeting- !rgani7ers and
participants e6plained that this 3as a private meeting in a private space,
and that no one could Coin forcibly, but that they 3ere 3illing to meet and
discuss 3ith the mob on a mutually convenient date and place-
The children and many 3omen 1comprising families of the disappeared2
present at the meeting, co3ered at the bac9 of the meeting room in fear for
their safety- Most of the children 3ere traumati7ed and 3eeping, 3hilst
some of the 3omen too 3ere in tears- /ome members of the mob 3ere
ta9ing photographs of the organi7ers and participants, 3hich terrori7ed the
participants further, as they feared reprisals for themselves and families-
As the mob refused to leave, the Maradana 1Colombo (#2 Police 3as called
to intervene by the priest in charge of C/0- /everal Police o8cers, including
senior o8cers arrived at the scene, and tried to mitigate bet3een the mob
and the participants and organi7ers of the meeting- 4nitially, the
Police focused on gathering information on the meeting, at 3hich point the
organi7ers provided basic information regarding meeting- The Police then
as9ed that the meeting be stopped and Gve representatives from the
organi7ers, including t3o from the families of the disappeared from the
+orth, come to the Maradana Police station to further discuss and resolve
the matter-
;ut the organi7ers insisted that the Police Grst disperse the mob 3hich had
invaded a private property by force, and had disrupted a peaceful and
legitimate meeting- Ho3ever, the Police refused, and seemed un3illing to
ta9e strong action against the mob, despite multiple appeals by the
organi7ers and one of the diplomats present to do so-
4nstead of dispersing the unruly mob or arresting them, the Police as9ed the
organi7ers to cancel the meeting and send the participants home- They also
refused to provide the participants 3ith protection, despite the organi7ers
re@uesting the Police for protection, 3hilst pointing out that the Police 3ere
duty"bound to do so- The organi7ers continued to stand their ground and
insist that the Police remove the abusive mob from the private premises of
the church- The organi7ers 3ere reinforced by the arrival of several la3yers,
Catholic priests and representatives of civil society organi7ations-
A ;uddhist Mon9 3ho 3as in the mob asserted that all the families that had
come 3ere those of >TT? members 3ho had been 9illed<)=- He 3ent on
assert that those leading and attending the meeting 3ere terrorists and
that it 3as an illegal meeting, held in a secret lair- He then called on citi7ens
to beat and beat and chase a3ay any persons 3ho are against the country-
He also said that traitors should not be allo3ed to live any3here and called
on the government to ta9e steps to legali7e hanging if that 3as the
punishment that should be given to traitors-
After a tense stand"oF of more than an hour, the Police managed to evict
the mob from the building, and eventually oF the premises by about
:-.#pm, more than t3o hours since their barging in-
;y this time, the mob itself had lodged a complaint against the organi7ers,
3ho they claimed had brought do3n Mahaveerar 1>TT? HeroAs2 families
from the +orth, to gather information and discredit the Government-
*inally, on the insistence of the Police, a representative from the organi7ers
and several accompanying la3yers 3ent to the Maradana Police, 3here the
mob 3as also present- The mob 3hilst continuing to threaten and hurl
abuse at the organi7ers and la3yers, also @uestioned them as to 3hy
representatives from the families of the disappeared from the +orth had not
come 3ith them to the station-
4ntimidation prior to the meeting
A mother of the disappeared complained that on the .rd of August, she had
received a threatening phone call from an unidentiGed person, 3ho had told
her that they 1the caller2 9ne3 she 3as going to Colombo for a meeting-
/ome of the other mothers too had received similar calls from unidentiGed
persons in the days prior to the meeting, and sometimes from callers
claiming to be from the Criminal 4nvestigation ivision 1C42, in@uiring after
their 3hereabouts, and that they come meet 3ith the caller at a said
location- Det another mother had C4 o8cers standing outside her house a
fe3 days before the meeting, and they had threatened her before she left
for Colombo- /he had also received similar calls from unidentiGed persons
in the days prior to the meeting- !ne of the +orthern based organi7ers of
the event had received a threatening phone call from an unidentiGed
person, also on .rdAugust, as9ing if he 3as ta9ing families of the
disappeared to Colombo that night 1.rd2 for a meeting- Another mother
complained that 3hilst she 3as in Colombo on the )th, the C4 had visited
her home in the +orth and as9ed after her 3hereabouts- These mothers
have been getting such anonymous calls for at least a month preceding this
meeting- The organi7ers say that this has become a common practice to
intimidate families prior to any meeting, protest or even hearing before the
Government appointed Commission of 4n@uiry into Missing Persons-
*urther, someone had sent a fa6<:= to media institutions, claiming to be
sent by the President of the Association for *amilies of the isappeared,
;rito *ernando, that there 3ill be a meeting at C/0 at 'pm on )th August,
for human activists 1probably referring to human rights activists2, and
others from the +orth and ?ast, to prepare them on ho3 to give evidence
before an international investigation on 3ar crimes- The fa6 goes on to
state that a large number of parents and relatives of families of the
disappeared at the hands of the Government security forces, 3ould be
present at this event, and calls on the media to provide coverage of the
event- The fa6 had been sent at '-'Kpm, on )th August '#(), from a shop
titled L/ +etcafe & ComA, from number #(("'&KK((#- The fa6 3as signed
oF by ;rito *ernando, President 5 *amilies of the isappeared, but 3ithout
any signature- ;rito conGrmed that he never sent out such a fa6, and had
not as9ed for any media coverage, as this 3as meant to be a private
meeting-
Around ('noon on )th August, a man named Mr- ;andara had gone to the
venue near Colombo 3here some of the families from the +orth 3ere due to
stay overnight that day, and in@uired from an employee 3hether there 3as
any meeting planned- He identiGed himself as from the Police and sho3ed a
Police identity card- He had also @uestioned the employee about the
identity of the organi7ers, including about a Priest from Mannar 3ho 3as
involved in organi7ing the event- Mr- ;andara had obtained the name and
phone number of the employee and had instructed the employee to inform
him 1Mr- ;andara2 if and 3hen the group came to the venue-
4n@uiries after the meeting
After the families had left for the +orth on the same 1)th August2 night,
persons claiming to be from the Police, including at least one person 3ho
had sho3n a Police identity card, had called the venue Cust outside
Colombo, 3here some of the families from the +orth 3ere supposed to stay
overnight and have another meeting, and as9ed an employee there if the
families 3ere still there- /imilarly, after the families left C/0 on the
)th night around &-.#pm, the Police had visited C/0 and as9ed the priest"
in"charge if the families 3ere still being 9ept there-
Police o8ces had also suggested to the priest"in"charge of C/0 not to rent
out the premises for this type of meetings in the future-
Around (#pm on :th August, o8cers claiming to be from the C4 of the
Police had visited ;rito *ernandoAs o8ce in +egombo and in@uired after
him, and as he 3as not there, said theyAd return later-
Around ('-.#am on Mth August 1Cust after midnight on :th August2, r-
+imal9a *ernando, Attorney"at">a3 and 3ell 9no3 Human 0ights efender
1H02, 3ho 3as one of the participants of the C/0 event, 3as issued
3ritten summons to come for an in@uiry on Mth August morning, to the
Maradana Police-
When the Police had all day yesterday 1:th2 to issue summons and visit
o8ces to ma9e in@uiries, one can only conclude that the late night visits
are additional intimidatory tactics by the la3 enforcement authorities-
r- *ernandoAs statement recording of the details pertaining to the
)thincident by the Police too9 over one hour- /he had also mentioned the
threats made against her life prior to this incident by t3o men representing
the Missing /oldiers Association- I4 stated that since 4 9ne3 of happened in
;eru3ala and Aluthgama, fearing disaster, 4 rushed to appeal to the mon9s
to go a3ay- They then started shouting at me in Glth,H said r- *ernando-
/he added that her reasoning for attending the meeting 3as to encourage
these family members, many of 3ho had gone before the Government
appointed >>0C, to provide the same evidence to the ne3 Commission
appointed by His ?6cellency-
The Maradana Police had also visited C/0 on the morning of :th August
around ((am to ta9e do3n a statement from the priest"in"charge regarding
the )th incident- Ho3ever, the Police had as9ed him to provide details of
those 3ho came from the +orth for the meeting-
Police Complaints
*ollo3ing the statement above, the priest in charge of C/0 had also lodged
a complaint against a mon9 from the mob, 3ho claimed to be the ?ditor of
the paper, Lharma eepaya,A on the basis of Criminal Trespass, both of the
church premises and C/0- The complaint 3as made to PC WiCe3ardena
/erial +umber ):.&' of the Maradana Police and a receipt 3as issued 3ith
the reference number M-!4;-(M#%:(-
When ;rito *ernando, the organi7er of the event 3ent t lodge a complaint
to the Maradana Police about the invasion of the mob and disruption of the
meeting and the inaction of the Police, the Maradana Police refused to
accept the complaint as they 3ere also implicated and re@uested ;rito to
lodge a complaint 3ith the 4nspector General of Police 14GP2-
Police Media /po9esman do3nplays the illegal invasion and Police inaction
There had been no such inactivity 1by the Police2 as they 3ere not a3are of
the protest 3hen it 3as initiated- !nce 3e 3ere informed 3e arrived
promptly at the scene- ;y that time the protestors had already gone inside
the premises- +othing happened even at that time and both parties 3ere
ta9en to the PoliceH<M= said Police Media /po9esman ACith 0ohana-
This is a totally distorted version of events 5 the reality being that the Police
refused to evict or arrest the invading mob, despite repeated re@uests by
the organi7ers and participants- 4t too9 hours for the large contingent of
Police to disperse the relatively small mob from the building and
subse@uently the premises, despite previous instances of Police dispersing
hundreds of students, 3or9ers etc-
Ministry of ?6ternal AFairs defends the mob, police inaction and blames
foreign diplomats
4n an o8cial statement dated :th August '#()<&=, the Ministry of ?6ternal
AFairs had tried to blame the organi7ers, participants and the diplomatic
community for the incident- 4t says that Ia certain section of the of the
diplomatic corps appears to be involved in a manner lac9ing in obCectivity,
in events organi7ed for a particular region and community- This has led to
the emergence of a pattern of such potentially volatile situations giving rise
to the perpetuation of mistrust amongst communities at a sensitive
Cuncture in the countryAs historyH-
The Ministry refrains from ac9no3ledging the illegal and forcible invasion of
Church o3ned private premises and building as 3ell as the disruption of a
peaceful and legitimate meeting by the mob- 4t do3nplays the incident to
mere ItensionsH, indicating the organi7ers and participants are also to
blame- The MinistryAs statement that the Police had brought the tensions
under control hides the refusal of the Police to disperse or arrest the
invading mob- 4t also ignores the refusal of the Police to provide protection
to organi7ers and participants, including elderly 3omen and children, 3hen
re@uested- The Ministry 3hite3ashing of the Police is despite the PoliceAs
demand to cancel the meeting and send the participants home instead of
ta9ing action against the mob- The Ministry has even resorted to Iurge the
diplomatic community to be more conscious of local sensitivitiesH instead of
urging ;uddhist Mon9 led mobs not resort to criminal activities to air
3hatever their grievances, and the Police to ta9e strong action against
those criminal activities-
*alse and defamatory allegations made by the mob 1ead and Missing
PersonAs Parents *ront2 at their Press Conference<$= on :th August, '#()
That the mob didnAt brea9 into the meeting nor did they disrupt the
meeting, and that they approached the organi7ers peacefully to ma9e an
appeal to them, but that the organi7ers responded angrily and
threateningly
That all the families of the disappeared that attended the C/0 event on the
)th3ere Mahaveerar 1>TT? HeroAs2 families
That each family 3as paid hundreds of thousands of 0upees to give
evidence via the internet to foreign organi7ations%+G!s
That the meeting 3as a clandestine meeting held to gather 3rong evidence
against the /ri >an9an government and the military
That +imal9a *ernando and ;rito *ernando are amongst those 3ho had
3or9ed against the sovereignty of the country
That 0u9i *ernando had recently given protection to >TT? cadres 3ho 3ere
spearheading the re"emergence of the >TT? in the country
That *r- M- /athivel has been driven out from the Christian Church and has
no place to stay and that he had tried to assault some of the mon9s at C/0
and that he 3as mainly responsible for the situation to get heated
That the Peratugami political party 13hose representative Pubudu Nagoda
3as at C/02, has, from its inception been pro">TT? and pro"Tamil diaspora
That ;ishop 0aCappu Noseph has supported the >TT? for decades, and that
he had ta9en leadership to send letters to the Geneva Council against the
Government and the security forces, and that he and his assistant *r-
/ebamalei 3ere involved in coordinating these events and sending people
to attend such events
That la3yer N- C- Weliamuna is a traitor that al3ays betrays his profession
That O/ ?mbassy money and vehicles 3ere being used to transport these
families from the +orth to Colombo
That testimonies of Mahaveerar 1>TT? HeroAs2 families 3as immediately
communicated to O/ and Geneva via /9ype
The ;uddhist Mon9 demanded that all the participants from the +orth and
diplomats must be @uestioned- The Mon9 also demanded that ?6ternal
AFairs o8ces of the government must observe all discussions bet3een /ri
>an9an citi7ens and foreign diplomats-
Most of the persons mentioned such as ;ishop 0ayappu Noseph, *r-
/ebamalei, *r- /athivel, r- +imal9a *ernando, ;rito *ernando and 0u9i
*ernando are persons 3ho have been supporting families of disappeared
persons in their struggles for truth and Custice- They have been engaging
3ith the /ri >an9an government, various domestic mechanisms to address
disappearances such as the +ational Human 0ights Commission & several
Presidential Commissions of 4n@uiries and the international community on
behalf of victims of human rights violations- Photos of *r- /athivel, 0u9i
*ernando and Acting eputy Head of the Onited /tates ?mbassy in Colombo
3ere also sho3n during the press conference-
*alse%inaccurate reportage of the incident and blaming, discrediting and
intimidating victims by the Government and the Police
/ri >an9aAs Consul General in /ydney, Australia, Mr- ;andula Nayase9era
appeared to have sided 3ith the mobs and Coined in condemning the
organi7ers and families of the disappeared- His t3eets<K= are as follo3sP
>et us remind those so called civil society, oh sorry uncivil that Maveers
3ere #coward #terrorists 3ho 9illed innocent people in Q/ri>an9a-H
IGuess 3ho is supporting Qterrorist families no3 after that terrorist ReluB
SAbeynaya9e, S9ada3ara Terrorists 3ho 9illed our people-H
The 0ivira<(#= too has deliberately misrepresented the facts and painted
the organi7ers and families of the disappeared as organi7ing to bring the
Government to disrepute by preparing to give evidence before an
international investigation-
There 3as also media coverage<((= of the incident- The Onited /tates
?mbassy in Colombo, ?mbassies of *rance, Germany and /3it7erland,
>a3yers Collective and the Centre for Policy Alternatives issued statements
condemning the incident<('=-
4t appears that the intent of the government and Police is to defend the
abusive mob that trespassed on the private premises of a Church,
disrupting a legitimate and peaceful meeting, and terrori7ed and
traumati7ed families of disappeared persons, including elderly 3omen and
children- And no3, instead of condemning and focusing on legal action
against the mob, the government and the Police appears determined to
shift the blame on to the organi7ers, participants and even diplomats
present and intimidate and harass the organi7ers and participants-
QQQ
<(= Photographs and video footage from the incident
"https:%%333-dropbo6-com%sh%rosyeveh(ecla:@%AAAg96TU@v+vMi4M3.CD6Pi
(a,http:%%srilan9abrief-org%'#()%#$%mon9s"led"mob"captured"on"camera% an
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<:= *a9e fa6 5 https:%%t3itter-com%N/>an9a%status%)KM'$:'#(''$$K$.#)
<M= Nehan Gunase9ara, Police deny O/ allegations, aily Mirror 1Print
version2 of Mth August, '#(), page '-
<&= Ministry of ?6ternal AFairs
3ebsite,http:%%333-mea-gov-l9%inde6-php%en%component%content%article%("
latest"ne3s%:#M:"e6ternal"aFairs"ministry"statement"on"the"meeting"at"csr"
on")th"august
<$= aily Mirror, Rideo: Move to give online evidence: MPP* 5
http:%%333-dailymirror-l9%ne3s%:#M:$"move"to"give"online"evidence"
dmppf-html
<K= Colombo Telegraph 5/ri >an9an diplomat sides 3ith protestors at
disrupted missing peoples event 5
https:%%333-colombotelegraph-com%inde6-php%sri"lan9an"diplomat"sides"
3ith"protestors"at"disrupted"missing"peoples"event%
<(#= 0ivira
<((=*or e6ample, see http:%%333-dailymirror-l9%ne3s%:#M('"csr"meeting"
triggers"tense"situation-html, http:%%333-ft-l9%'#()%#$%#:%cho9ing"civil"
society%, https:%%333-colombotelegraph-com%inde6-php%sri"lan9an"diplomat"
sides"3ith"protestors"at"disrupted"missing"peoples"
event%,http:%%colomboga7ette-com%'#()%#$%#)%mob"threaten"families"of"the"
missing%, http:%%333-asianmirror-l9%ne3s%item%')K."pro"govt"mob"disrupts"
meeting"attended"by"us"embassy"political"chief an
dhttp:%%333-tamilguardian-com%article-aspBarticleidV((&'M- >ocal TR
stations such as /irasa, MTR, /ha9thi and /3arnavahini also covered the
incident in the ne3s broadcasts on )th August night-
<('=/ee http:%%srilan9a-usembassy-gov%pr"
)aug()-html,http:%%333-dailymirror-l9%ne3s%:#M:#"france"germany"u9"and"
s3it7erland"condemn"
disruption-html,http:%%333-humanrights-asia%ne3s%for3arded"ne3s%AH0C"
*/T"#:&"'#()and http:%%333-cpalan9a-org%condemnation"of"violent"attac9"
on"discussion"3ith"families"of"the"disappeared%
Posted by Thavam