(A) Unverified Allegations

The spate of criticism and accusations, leveled at the SL Armed Forces, the Police and the Government of Sri Lanka during recent times, for complicity in abductions and disappearances that have taken place in certain parts of the country are unfounded. Various groups and organizations, local as well as international, have raised concern over these alleged human rights violations.

It is significant to note that there is no confirmation that these agencies have followed any procedures to verify the allegations. The GoSL is taken to task based mostly on hearsay and fabrication that certain elements in government agencies have had a hand in some of these abductions and disappearances.

(B) GoSL Upholds Rule of Law

The GoSl as a democratically elected government, is committed to upholding the rule of law and the preservation of human rights, this includes the conduct of inquiries into the fate and whereabouts of missing persons including abductions. This is an ongoing and continuous process. It is not a response to the recent allegations in various fora.

However as a responsible member state of the international community the GoSl has established a series of mechanisms recently to reinforce the protection of human rights. Some of the initiatives are as follows:

Sri Lanka, as a party to a number of international human rights treaties and as a member of the UN Human Rights Council, is taking every possible step to protect and preserve human rights in the country. The GoSL and the SL Armed Forces are not deterred by the attempts made by the LTTE to place the blame on the GoSL for the myriad human rights violations perpetrated by the LTTE.

[For example on 6th October 2004, a joint Press Release issued by the International Commission of Jurists, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International requested the LTTE to stop human rights violations, and to prove that the LTTE is both willing and capable of respecting the lives and rights of all Sri Lankans. It was also stated then, by Loubna Freih, Geneva Director for Human Rights Watch, that the ‘LTTE seems to have dramatically escalated the killing of perceived Tamil opponents and is still recruiting child soldiers” – See Peace in Sri Lanka: Obstacles And Opportunities, 2005,p. 378. It was also stated by the University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna) in August 2006, that the hapless people living in the LTTE controlled areas have been long abused and that the LTTE carries no credibility internationally (http://uthr.org/Statements/)

(C ) Revelations re alleged abductions

The inquiries conducted by the Disappearance Investigation Unit (DIU) of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the relevant Police authorities and the subsequent revelations, have led to the inescapable conclusion that much of the accusations were stage managed for mere propaganda purposes. The following, which reveal the outcome of the investigations substantiate the fact that neither the Security Forces, nor the Police, have been involved, directly or indirectly, in the alleged abductions and disappearances.

It is evident that many of the cases reported below were clearly and intentionally manipulated, with the ulterior motive of gaining some personal advantage. This was in some instances to gain entry to a foreign land. In other instances, it was to avoid a Customs penalty or a consequence of not adhering to a Court order. Other cases reveal the negligence on the part of those who were allegedly abducted, of not informing their parents or guardians about their fate or whereabouts. Some others also show that underworld criminal gangs have been conveniently mistaken to be armed groups consisting of SL Army and Police personnel.

The LTTE in its endeavour to tarnish the image of the GoSL, exaggerates the human rights situation as a debilitating and hopeless one. Any group or organization, falling prey to this malicious propaganda of the LTTE, without prior inquiry, investigation or reliable verification, could as well be accused of complicity in propagating and disseminating the message and motives of the LTTE.

A summary of some of the complaints and inquiries conducted by the DIU and the Police are as follows: