Summary
Members of the Christian Solidarity Movement (CSM) of Sri
Lanka and its founder, Fr. Sarath Iddamalgoda, were
intimidated by Mr. Sarath Gunaratne, Deputy Minister of
Ports and Aviation after they undertook visits to
the war-torn Vanni region of northern Sri Lanka to
document human rights violations and the humanitarian
crisis faced by civilians there.
On 12 October 2008, Mr. Gunaratne accused Fr.
Iddamalgoda of distributing materials against the
government and asked him to stop doing such things in the
Deputy Minister’s area. The Deputy Minister
claimed that Fr. Iddamalgoda and “his group”
were misleading the people and warned that such
activities should not be carried out without prior
consultation with him.
On the next day, Deputy Minister Gunaratne
mentioned in a public meeting in Negombo that he had
called on CSM to stop their distribution of
materials. He threatened that Catholic priests
would no longer be respected as religious leaders if they
continue to involve in such activities.
The state-owned TV channel, Independent Television
Network (ITN) in its 7pm news on 13 October 2008 gave
prominence to Mr. Gunaratne’s speech.
Similar news was telecasted at ITN special news section
“Vimasuma” to condemn CSM’s investigations
on the violence. These news items were featured on
ITN’s website. CSM has strongly protested the
Network’s failure to contact CSM members for
comments, despite the fact that its investigation
leaflets carried several telephone numbers and email
addresses of CSM leaders.
This intimidation is not an individual
incident. CSM relates it to a recent interrogation
in July 2008, when members of 4 human rights groups were
interrogated by the Colombo Crime Division over a leaflet
distributed on Human Rights Day 2007.
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Sample
Letter
We are writing with grave
concern about the threathening by the
Deputy Minister of Ports and Aviation, Mr. Sarath
Gunaratne, and a partial report by Independent
Television Network (ITN), a state-owned TV
channel, against the Christian Solidarity
Movement (CSM) and its founding member, Fr.
Iddamalgoda in October 2008 for an alleged
anti-government act. We understand,
however, that the CSM is only documenting
humanitarian problem faced by civilians in region
of conflict.
It is observed that these incidents are
continuation of a series of intimidations against
human right defenders who are concerned about the
humanitarian crises in the war torn North.
We respect the Sri Lanka government’s
attempt to uphold human rights despite the
challenge of war in the country. As a
member of the International Covenant on Civil
& Political Rights (ICCPR), your government
should refer to Article 19 of ICCPR in this case,
which states “Everyone shall have the right
to hold opinions without interference” and
“Everyone shall have the right to freedom of
expression; this right shall include freedom to
seek, receive and impart information.”
With hope that humanitarian workers and
human rights defenders also enjoy such right
without fear, we request the authorities to:
• guarantee in all circumstances the
security of Fr. Sarath Iddamalgoda, CSM members
as well as all Sri Lankan human rights defenders;
and
• stop acts of harassment against
human rights defenders and humanitarian workers
in Sri Lanka, including CSM and Fr. Sarath
Iddamalgoda. |
Background
Hundreds of thousands of people are displaced in
the Northern region in Sri Lanka, particularly the Vanni
region where fighting is going on between the government
forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE). Enforced disappearances and killings are
reported regularly from the North, particularly from
Mannar, Vavuniya and Jaffna districts, which border the
Vanni region where fighting is going on.
The government has placed restrictions on human
rights defenders, independent media personnel, aid
workers and foreign nationals in particular, from
traveling to the area. There are also restrictions
on communication. As a result, apart from
government media and websites believed to be aligned to
the LTTE, there are very few independent reports made
available for the general public to know the real
situation in the area, particularly the situation of
civilians.
It is in this context that in the last few months,
the Christian Solidarity Movement (CSM) members have
undertaken regular field visits to the Northern region in
order to assess the situation of civilians. CSM
members have been meeting regularly with church leaders
from Vanni, a region controlled by the LTTE and where
there are on-going battles between the LTTE and the
government forces.
In the process, CSM had sought to document the
human rights and humanitarian crisis in the Vanni region,
highlighting the abuses and suffering faced by civilians,
particularly displaced people. Their work includes
the following:
• A background paper was prepared and
disseminated amongst the general public, diplomatic
community in Sri Lanka, UN agencies and civil society
groups. This report was also quoted in several
local newspapers and in a report files by the Inter Press
Service (IPS).
• CSM members met the UN Representative of
the Secretary-General on Human Rights of Internally
Displaced Peoples during his visit to Sri Lanka in
September 2008.
• Urgent appeals in English, Sinhalese and
Tamil languages, containing information about the
situation of civilians in the face of ongoing military
battles in the North and distributed these within
churches and public places around Colombo.
• CSM members shared testimonies of church
leaders serving in the frontlines of war in the North, as
well as their own experiences in the North, for the
awarness of the people in the South.
• Contributions made by individuals for the
well-being of displaced people were collected by CSM to
channel towards the needs of people in Vanni through
church leaders in the North.
• In July 2008, CSM organized an ecumenical
prayer service at St. Philip Neri’s church in
Colombo, commemorating the 25th anniversary of
“Black July”, a tragic event in 1983 which led
to hundreds of ethnic Tamil minorities killed and their
property destroyed in the country.
• In September 2008, CSM organized an
ecumenical prayer service at the Cathedral of the Living
Saviour (Headquarters of the Diocese of Colombo of the
Anglican Church) in Colombo, drawing more than 200
people. The event included testimonies from CSM
members.
Fr. Sarath Iddamalgoda
Fr. Iddamalgoda is a well known human rights
defender in Sri Lanka, being the founder and leader of
groups such as Janawabodaya, Negombo, Manawa Himikam
Piyasa, Ekela, Movement for National Land and
Agricultural Reform and the Alliance for the Protection
of Human Rights and Natural Resources. He has also
been involved in struggles for rights of farmers,
fisherfolk and free trade zone workers for decades and
has been an outspoken critique of the war.
Presently, he is a leader of the Forum for Life, a
coalition of civil society groups.
He is a founding member of CSM and prominent
leader in its current campaign regarding the humanitarian
situation in the Vanni region. Furthermore, he had
visited the war torn North twice in the past few months
and participated in a peace march with Tamil priests in
the South.
Christian Solidarity Movement
CSM is an independent group of Christians
(individuals and groups) from different Christian
denominations, who are concerned and taking collective
action on justice, peace and human rights issues.
CSM is comprised of Christians from various
churches such as Anglican, Catholic and Methodist, and
include men and women clergy and lay people.
Source:
Christian Solidarity Movement
Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
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