Return to War - Human Rights Watch
Return to War - Human Rights Watch Return to War - Human Rights Watch
VI. Tamil Evictions from Colombo Indications of possible Tamil evictions from Colombo became public on June 1, 2007, when Inspector General of Police Perera told reporters, “Those who are loitering in Colombo will be sent home. We will give them transport.” He continued, “We are doing this to protect the people and because of a threat to national security.” 121 At about 4 a.m. on June 7, police and army forces conducted sweeps of lodges and boarding houses where Tamils from outside the capital frequently stay. In most cases, people were not allowed to use toilets and were given as little as 30 minutes to pack their bags. The authorities put 376 Tamils on board buses that drove to the predominantly Tamil town of Vavuniya, about 250 kilometers to the north, near the boundary with LTTE-controlled territory. Human Rights Watch interviewed three people who were evicted from different Colombo lodges. According to one evicted man, There were nearly 20 policemen and 15 army soldiers. They asked me what I was doing in Colombo. I told them I was working here as a driver for nearly four months. They checked my identity card and told me to pack my bags. 122 A Jaffna resident and his mother had been in Colombo lodges since December 29. He told us, We are here to get our visas. In between my mother got very sick so we could not go back to Jaffna. They forced both of us on the buses. My mother was crying, she could not walk. In Jaffna, the situation is very bad. There is no security for us. We are scared to go back there. 123 121 Amal Jayasinghe, “Sri Lanka Government Seeks Peace Talks,” Agence France-Presse, June 1, 2007. 122 Human Rights Watch interview with person evicted from the lodges, Colombo, June 27, 2007. 123 Human Rights Watch interview with mother and son evicted from the lodges, Colombo, June 27, 2007. 65 Human Rights Watch August 2007
A lodge-owner who had 29 out of 36 lodgers evicted on the morning of June 7 told a similar story: Three weeks before the incident, I got a verbal order from the Wellawatte [a section of Colombo] police station asking me to close the lodge because of security reasons. When we went to talk to the police, they told us to start packing off people who had been in Colombo for more than a month. On June 7 morning, the police and army arrived in jeep-loads and said they want to do ‘checking.’ Within minutes they lined up everybody and asked them to pack their bags. There were old women with medical certificates and people with embassy appointments. They were all asked to get into buses which came in a few hours. Some people had return flight tickets to Jaffna; they were also sent on the buses to Vavuniya. A Sri Lankan police officer in Colombo stands guard at a protest against the eviction of Tamils in the city on June 8, 2007. © 2007 AP/Eranga Jayawardena Return to War 66
- Page 17 and 18: disappearances. The police released
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A lodge-owner who had 29 out of 36 lodgers evicted on the morning of June 7 <strong>to</strong>ld a<br />
similar s<strong>to</strong>ry:<br />
Three weeks before the incident, I got a verbal order from the<br />
Wellawatte [a section of Colombo] police station asking me <strong>to</strong> close<br />
the lodge because of security reasons. When we went <strong>to</strong> talk <strong>to</strong> the<br />
police, they <strong>to</strong>ld us <strong>to</strong> start packing off people who had been in<br />
Colombo for more than a month.<br />
On June 7 morning, the police and army arrived in jeep-loads and said<br />
they want <strong>to</strong> do ‘checking.’ Within minutes they lined up everybody<br />
and asked them <strong>to</strong> pack their bags. There were old women with<br />
medical certificates and people with embassy appointments. They<br />
were all asked <strong>to</strong> get in<strong>to</strong> buses which came in a few hours. Some<br />
people had return flight tickets <strong>to</strong> Jaffna; they were also sent on the<br />
buses <strong>to</strong> Vavuniya.<br />
A Sri Lankan police officer in Colombo stands guard at a protest against the eviction of Tamils in the city on June 8,<br />
2007. © 2007 AP/Eranga Jayawardena<br />
<strong>Return</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>War</strong> 66
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