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then that his brother had paid, although he learned later that he had not paid the full
one million rupees demanded.
“They said, ‘Do not convey this information to anyone: the media, the police or
human rights groups,’” the man said. “’We have connections at each organization,
so we will not allow you to live.’”
He believes the abductors were members of the Karuna group because they spoke
Tamil with a Batticaloa accent (few police or military personnel speak Tamil without a
Sinhala accent), and because they had no trouble going through what he believes
were government checkpoints.
According to the man, who is active in Colombo’s Tamil business community, the
Karuna group has extorted money from roughly 70 Tamil businessmen in Colombo,
many of them with businesses on Sea Street. The Jewelers Business Association had
met President Rajapaksa to complain, he said.
As in the case of the Colombo jeweler, abductions for ranson in Vavuniya are also
part of a broader phenomenon of demanding money with menaces. Human Rights
Watch interviewed one couple, both lawyers, from Vavuniya who fled the town after
getting demands for money from individuals who identified themselves as from the
Karuna group. 102 One of the people who threatened the couple identified himself as
Seelan, the couple said. According to the couple, who worked closely with the town’s
business community, the Karuna group is believed to have abducted and killed three
local businessmen who refused to pay. The first was a private teacher named Kamal
Chandran, who ran a private tutoring company in town. Then N. Gunaratnam, who
ran the Kapilan Transport bus company, with a route between Vavuniya and Colombo,
was targeted. He apparently gave money but then informed the police. Last was S.K.
Senthilnathan, who owned Elephant Soda Distribution Co. and City Agency in
town. 103
102 Human Rights Watch interview with couple from Vavuniya, Colombo, March 4, 2007.
103 According to Tamilnet, Senthilnathan was a senior member of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress. “Senthilnathan Shot and
Killed in Vavuniya,” Tamilnet, April 26, 2007, http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=17922 (accessed June 28,
2007).
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