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In February 2007 Human Rights Watch interviewed the family members of 17 people whom the families believe were detained by the police, although they did not know whether they were specifically arrested under the Emergency Regulations. All said they had been unable to obtain any information about the location of their relative or the charges against them. Also problematic is that the 2005 Emergency Regulations allow joint operations between the army and the police, with no clarity on responsibility. Lawyers working on cases of arrests under the regulations say that the police often round up alleged suspects in cordon and search operations in conjunction with the military and then tell lawyers and family members that they must speak to the military because the police have no information about the arrest. 147 According to Sri Lankan lawyers and human rights activists, detainees under the Emergency Regulations are kept in regular prisons as well as police stations and other detention facilities, including those run by the Terrorism Investigation Division. The total number of people detained under Emergency Regulations since 2005 is unknown. The government has failed to provide complete lists of those detained, the charges they face, and the locations where they are being held. On March 8, 2006, government defense spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said that 452 persons were in detention under the Emergency Regulations, among them 15 soldiers, five policemen, one former policeman, and three military deserters. The ethnic breakdown of the detainees, he said, was 372 Tamils, 61 Sinhalese, and 19 Muslims. 148 The number of detainees is certainly significantly higher now, as these figures predate the resumption of major hostilities. On June 18, 2007, Human Rights Watch asked the government how many people it had arrested under the Emergency (Miscellaneous Provisions and Powers) Regulations (EMPPR) since its enactment in August 2005, where they were being 147 Human Rights Watch interviews with lawyers, Colombo, February 2007. 148 The figure is mentioned in a report by the International Crisis Group, “Sri Lanka’s Human Rights Crisis,” June 14, 2007, http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWFiles2007.nsf/FilesByRWDocUnidFilename/DBC51E0313E10AB5852572FA006892C6- Full_Report.pdf/$File/Full_Report.pdf (accessed July 18, 2007), which cites "Sri Lanka Human Rights Update," INFORM and Law and Society Trust, March 15, 2007. 75 Human Rights Watch August 2007
held, how many had been charged with offenses, how many had been brought to trial, and how many of these people had been released. The government replied that these figures were being tabulated by the police. 149 Again, it should have been possible for the government to provide at least some information. On April 12, 2007, in response to public concerns and international pressure about spiraling arrests and “disappearances,” the government recirculated presidential directives on how security forces should protect human rights during arrests and detentions. 150 The Presidential Directives on Protecting Fundamental Rights of Persons Arrested and/or Detained, distributed to the commanders of the army, navy, air force and police, instruct the security forces to respect basic human rights, as well as to cooperate with the Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission. The main points include: • Security forces should not arrest or detain any person under any Emergency Regulation or the Prevention of Terrorism Act No. 48 of 1979 except in accordance with the law. • The arresting officer should identify himself by name and rank, inform the person to be arrested of the reason for the arrest, and document all details of the arrest. The arrested person should be allowed to make contact with family or friends to inform them of his or her whereabouts. • Arrested children and women can be accompanied by a person of their choice. • An arrested person should be allowed to make a statement in the language of his or her choice. • The Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission must be granted unfettered access to all arrested or detained persons. The HRC must be informed within 48 hours of any arrest or detention and the place the person is being detained. 149 Sri Lankan government response to Human Rights Watch, July 12, 2007. 150 “Secretary Defense [sic] Re-circulates Presidential Directives on Protecting Fundamental Rights of Persons Arrested and/or Detained,” Ministry of Defence, Public Security, Law and Order, April 25, 2007, http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20070425_02 (accessed May 16, 2007). Return to War 76
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Sri Lanka Return to War Human Right
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Karuna group ......................
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I. Summary What I am saying is, if
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extrajudicial killings to unlawful
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2002. Since January 2006 more than
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against them, and list the location
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Emergency Regulations (372 Tamils,
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The mother of an abducted boy from
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disappearances. The police released
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commission, highlighting examples o
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Methodology This report is based pr
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discriminating against Tamils in th
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intimidation to force civilians who
Page 27 and 28: International humanitarian law proh
Page 29 and 30: in which an LTTE cadre shot and kil
Page 31 and 32: the Savukady camp in Batticaloa to
Page 33 and 34: they would no longer be responsible
Page 35 and 36: In mid-May the government began a n
Page 37 and 38: On May 29, UNHCR commented on the g
Page 39 and 40: Grama Niladari Divisions (the small
Page 41 and 42: The salvos landed in and around the
Page 43 and 44: didn’t take him to the hospital b
Page 45 and 46: While describing the loss of civili
Page 47 and 48: saw no weapons, no bunkers or artil
Page 49 and 50: V. Enforced Disappearances and Abdu
Page 51 and 52: months of 2007. 84 A government com
Page 53 and 54: In one illustrative case documented
Page 55 and 56: The Valvettiturai police registered
Page 57 and 58: would send him by bus or train to T
Page 59 and 60: wife tried his cell phone several t
Page 61 and 62: then that his brother had paid, alt
Page 63 and 64: as the disseminators of “LTTE pro
Page 65 and 66: It is evident that many of the [dis
Page 67 and 68: The government’s lack of commitme
Page 69 and 70: A lodge-owner who had 29 out of 36
Page 71 and 72: arguing that evicting Tamils from C
Page 73 and 74: VII. Emergency Regulations In Augus
Page 75 and 76: Given the wide ranging powers provi
Page 77: Large-scale arrests of Tamil youth
Page 81 and 82: Various United Nations principles i
Page 83 and 84: In addition, the regulations establ
Page 85 and 86: individuals and groups working to r
Page 87 and 88: At a public meeting on April 6, 200
Page 89 and 90: On April 30, 2007, unidentified gun
Page 91 and 92: “We have blocked it as per a gove
Page 93 and 94: conference said they had already ca
Page 95 and 96: astards with the law we need to use
Page 97 and 98: humanitarian worker with direct kno
Page 99 and 100: The government dismissed the allega
Page 101 and 102: With the change of administration i
Page 103 and 104: IX. Karuna Group and State Complici
Page 105 and 106: stating that it “has no complicit
Page 107 and 108: of the government commission lookin
Page 109 and 110: Over the past 18 months, the govern
Page 111 and 112: Lack of witness protection A key pr
Page 113 and 114: president cannot appoint any commis
Page 115 and 116: Watch asked the Sri Lankan governme
Page 117 and 118: persons and refugees, and SLMM in r
Page 119 and 120: 7. Death of 51 persons in Naddalamo
Page 121 and 122: Members of the IIGEP have also expr
Page 123 and 124: In the current context, in particul
Page 125 and 126: domestic and international criticis
Page 127 and 128: To the Liberation Tigers of Tamil E
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• Urge the Sri Lankan government
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H UMAN R I GHTS WATCH 350 Fifth Ave
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