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Hon. Hor Namhong, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, Austria
Hon. Louis Michel, Deputy Prime Minister & Minister for Foreign Affairs, Belgium
Hon. Niels Helveg Peterson, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Denmark
Hon. Jan-Erik Enestam, Minister of defence, Finland
Hon. Hubert Vedrine, Minister of Foreign Affairs, France
Hon. Joshka Fisher, Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs, Germany
Hon. George A. Papandreou, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Greece
Hon. Brian Cowen T.D., Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ireland
Hon. Lamberto Dini, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Italy
Hon. Jean Spautz, President de la Chamber des Deputes, Luxembourg
Hon. Joniaz Van Aartsen, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Netherlands
Hon. Dr. Jaime Jose Matos da Gama, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Portugal
Hon. Joseph Pique, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Spain
Hon. Anna Lindh, Minister for Froeign Affairs, Sweden
Rt Hon. Robin Cook MP, The Foreign secretary, United Kingdom
Hon. Yohei Kono, Foreing Minister, Japan
Hon. John Manley, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Canada
Mr. Colin L. Powell, Secretary of State, USA
Hon. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Minister of Foreign Affairs, South Africa
Hon. Alexander Downer MP, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Australia
Honorable Minister
You may be aware of the constitutional crisis that threatens to undermine and erode democratic values in Sri Lanka at present. President Chandrika Kumarathunga Bandaranaiaka, using the executive powers of the President - which no President in the world has in his/her disposal - has prorogued the Parliament to avoid her government facing an opposition tabled no-confidence motion. Parliamentarians have been prevented by police, from entering the parliament building. Opposition parliamentarians organized protest rallies in and around Colombo to demonstrate their resistance to the undemocratic actions of the President. The police disturbed these protest rallies by tear gassing the protestors; firing rubber bullets at them and even firing live ammunition. Two people were killed and 40 others were injured, several of them seriously. A legislator is among the injured. The opposition leader and the former Prime Minister, Ranil Wickramasinga has accused the Presidential Security Division of trying to assassinate him during the rally. There is no independent commission of police in Sri Lanka. All the opposition parties are united and talking of impeaching the President when the Parliament meets in September. A similar rally organized by the government supporters a few days prior to this was given police protection. The US government has issued a warning to their citizens not to travel to Colombo to avoid getting caught up in the possible confrontations between the opposition supporters and the security forces. Your diplomatic mission in Colombo would have briefed you on this matter and I need not elaborate further on this.
However, I would like to bring to your notice a distinctly different problem that is brewing up in the troubled Jaffna Peninsula in the North of the country which is under strict military rule. The commanding officer of the North based in the Palaly military base in the Jaffna Peninsula only functions as the government representative of the region. The latest report from a foreign journalist about the situation in Jaffna could be found in the report filed by the Asia Times correspondent Feisal Samath on July 19th 2001, at Asia Times . Even for a person to travel from one area to another within the peninsula, a travel permit from the security forces is mandatory. Travelling to areas outside the peninsula is almost impossible for many. The peninsula is described by most of the inhabitants as an open prison.
The education that used to be revered by the Jaffna people was in shambles immediately after the Security Forces took control of the peninsula in 1995. Schools and the only University in the region were closed for a long time and started gradually to function with great difficulty. For the last two years they were functioning reasonably well considering the limitations in resources experienced by these institutions.
Earlier in the year, the people of Jaffna expressed in public, after a long period, their demands of Peace and self-determination. Tamil people in Jaffna were inspired by the "Pongu Thamil" or "Tamil Upsurge" campaign undertaken by the University students in defiance of the State Armed Forces. The resounding success of the demonstration in the teeth of the opposition by the armed forces was perceived as a slap in the face for the defence establishment in Jaffna. Krishnasamy Thiviyan, a final year student of the Science faculty who was the General Secretary of the University Students Association at that time spearheaded that demonstration.
On 2nd of July 2001, Thiviyan was arrested by the security forces in Inuvil, while, he was returning from the home of a relative. There are eyewitness reports that he was severely assaulted at the time of arrest. Thereafter, he was taken to the military base complex at Kankesanthurai and detained. It was announced that Thiviyan was a member of the LTTE and had been taken in for investigating his alleged "subversive activity". The university community has alleged that the security forces have tortured Thiviyan, while he was under their custody. A University delegation headed by the Vice Chancellor visited Thiviyan and found him to be still in pain due to the torture he had gone through in the hands of the Security forces. When he was produced in courts, Thiviyan told the judge that he was tortured and shown him his blood soaked handkerchief as an evidence of torture. Although the judge has ordered for a medical examination, he has ordered Tiviyan to be remanded until 24th of July while he waits further advice from the Attorney General. The students fear the authorities are trying to force Thiviyan through third grade methods, to admit membership and involvement with the LTTE. The draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act in Sri Lanka provides for acceptance of "confessions" made in custodial detention, admissible as evidence. This has given rise to innumerable instances where "confessions" obtained under "duress" have been used to put innocent youths behind bars for indefinite periods without trial. The University students began a boycott of lectures that virtually shut down the campus, and now the authorities have formally shut down the Jaffna University. These students have asked the schools to support their cause and schools students are also boycotting classes. The actions of the Security forces continue to disrupt even the rights for education of the people of Jaffna. While it has been demonstrated in the past few days by the actions of the President, that the rest of the country has come under a dictatorship, Jaffna peninsula has been brought under a military rule. Even decisions like, opening and closing a University, are taken by the military authorities.
Therefore, on behalf of the helpless people of Jaffna, I appeal to you to use the influence of your office, to bring pressure on the Sri Lankan President to intervene in Thiviyan's matter and establish the justice, and release Thiviyan without further delay and let him go free until and unless he is proven guilty. It is high time for Western nations, on whose generosity the Sri Lankan government rely on to run the economy of the country, to consider sanctions on military assistance to Sri Lanka and boycotting Sri Lankan sports teams. Such actions by the Western Nations only brought the Apartheid South African regime to its knees. Such a move is imperative in case of Sri Lanka, for democracy to prevail in general, and for the people of Jaffna to be freed from the clutches of the Sri Lankan security forces in particular.
Respectfully Submitted
Dr. Victor Rajakulendran
Sydney
Australia
CC:
President of Sri Lanka, Her Excellency, Chandrika Bandaranayake Kumarathunga
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sri Lanka, Hon. Luxshman Kadirgamar
