Return to War - Human Rights Watch
Return to War - Human Rights Watch Return to War - Human Rights Watch
after the crime. 248 Because of fear of reprisals, only one witness—Dr. K. Manoharan, the father of one of the victims—has offered to testify as a prosecution witness. No one else among the many persons in the vicinity of the killings has agreed. After testifying at a magistrate’s inquest in January, Dr. Manoharan and his family were subjected to repeated threats, forcing them eventually to leave Trincomalee. On the evening of the inquest, unidentified men banged on Dr. Manoharan’s door and threw stones at his house. Dr. Manoharan subsequently received anonymous phone calls threatening to kill him and his family. In June the police threatened one of Dr. Manoharan’s sons as he went to school, and at a checkpoint a policeman delayed Dr. Manoharan, saying, “You are supporting the LTTE and our high officers are supporting you, so how can we do our duty?” Naval officers and police also came to Dr. Manoharan’s home in the evening offering “protection” in a manner suggesting not a genuine offer of assistance, but a thinly veiled threat. 249 Potential witnesses were also scared by the January 24, 2006 killing of the journalist Subramaniyam Sugirdharajan, apparently because he had taken photographs of the five murdered youth, which contested claims that the men were killed by a grenade. (See Chapter VIII, “Freedom of Expression and Association.”) Non-implementation of the 17 th Amendment In October 2001 the Sri Lankan parliament unanimously voted in favor of the 17th amendment to the Sri Lankan constitution, which created a Constitutional Council. 250 The council’s task is to nominate members of the Human Rights Commission, the Election Commission, Public Service Commission, the Permanent Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, the Finance Commission, the Delimitation Commission, and the newly formed National Police Commission. 251 The 248 “Flight, Displacement and the Two-fold Reign of Terror,” University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna), Information Bulletin No. 40, June 15, 2006, http://www.uthr.org/bulletins/bul40.htm (accessed July 25, 2007). 249 “Sri Lanka: Protect Witnesses in Trincomalee Killings,” Human Rights Watch news release, June 28, 2006, http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/06/27/slanka13628.htm. 250 See the full text of the 17th amendment at http://www.priu.gov.lk/Cons/1978Constitution/SeventeenthAmendment.html (accessed May 30, 2007). 251 Under the amendment, the membership of the Judicial Services Commission is composed of the chief justice and two sitting judges recommended by the president and approved by the Constitutional Council. 109 Human Rights Watch August 2007
president cannot appoint any commission members without the recommendation of the council. The logic behind the amendment was to create a neutral and independent body to make appointments to the various commissions. Previously, the president had directly appointed the members of the Human Rights Commission, the Public Service Commission, and the Bribery Commission. According to the amendment, the 10-person Constitutional Council is comprised of the prime minister, the leader of the opposition in parliament, and the speaker of parliament, who acts as chairperson. Of the seven other members, one is chosen by the president, five are appointed by the president after nomination by the prime minister and leader of opposition, 252 and one is appointed by the president after majority vote of the deputies from the smaller parties in parliament. The nominated members are people of “eminence and integrity who have distinguished themselves in public life and who are not members of any political party.” In March 2005 the terms of six of the 10 council members expired, and the Constitutional Council lost its necessary quorum, thereby rendering it inoperative. 253 President Rajapaksa was elected in November 2005. After months of haggling, the prime minister and leader of the main opposition party finally decided on the individuals they would recommend to the president for appointment to the council. Rather than immediately appoint those five members to the council, however, which would have given the council nine members, the president argued that the council could not function without the tenth member, who had to be nominated by a majority vote of the smaller parties in parliament. To date, the smaller parties have been unable to decide on the name of their recommended appointee, ostensibly due to disagreement over the proper process of selection. Lawyers and human rights activists in Sri Lanka view the president’s decision as a way to keep the council from operating. 252 Three of the five persons nominated jointly by the prime minister and opposition leader should “represent minority interests.” 253 According to Article 41E(3), the commission’s quorum is six. Return to War 110
- Page 61 and 62: then that his brother had paid, alt
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president cannot appoint any commission members without the recommendation of<br />
the council.<br />
The logic behind the amendment was <strong>to</strong> create a neutral and independent body <strong>to</strong><br />
make appointments <strong>to</strong> the various commissions. Previously, the president had<br />
directly appointed the members of the <strong>Human</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> Commission, the Public Service<br />
Commission, and the Bribery Commission.<br />
According <strong>to</strong> the amendment, the 10-person Constitutional Council is comprised of<br />
the prime minister, the leader of the opposition in parliament, and the speaker of<br />
parliament, who acts as chairperson. Of the seven other members, one is chosen by<br />
the president, five are appointed by the president after nomination by the prime<br />
minister and leader of opposition, 252 and one is appointed by the president after<br />
majority vote of the deputies from the smaller parties in parliament. The nominated<br />
members are people of “eminence and integrity who have distinguished themselves<br />
in public life and who are not members of any political party.”<br />
In March 2005 the terms of six of the 10 council members expired, and the<br />
Constitutional Council lost its necessary quorum, thereby rendering it inoperative. 253<br />
President Rajapaksa was elected in November 2005. After months of haggling, the<br />
prime minister and leader of the main opposition party finally decided on the<br />
individuals they would recommend <strong>to</strong> the president for appointment <strong>to</strong> the council.<br />
Rather than immediately appoint those five members <strong>to</strong> the council, however, which<br />
would have given the council nine members, the president argued that the council<br />
could not function without the tenth member, who had <strong>to</strong> be nominated by a<br />
majority vote of the smaller parties in parliament. To date, the smaller parties have<br />
been unable <strong>to</strong> decide on the name of their recommended appointee, ostensibly due<br />
<strong>to</strong> disagreement over the proper process of selection. Lawyers and human rights<br />
activists in Sri Lanka view the president’s decision as a way <strong>to</strong> keep the council from<br />
operating.<br />
252 Three of the five persons nominated jointly by the prime minister and opposition leader should “represent minority<br />
interests.”<br />
253 According <strong>to</strong> Article 41E(3), the commission’s quorum is six.<br />
<strong>Return</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>War</strong> 110
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