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Return to War - Human Rights Watch

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humanitarian worker with direct knowledge of the incident, a soldier shot and killed<br />

Gnanapragasam after an argument over the military’s use of his trac<strong>to</strong>r. 202 On May 21,<br />

2006, in Mutur, unknown assailants threw grenades at the offices of three<br />

international NGOs, ZOA Refugee Care, INTERSOS, and Non-Violent Peace Force<br />

(NVPF). The latter attack injured one international staff member and two passers-by,<br />

and damaged the NVPF offices. The government condemned the attack 203 and<br />

ordered an investigation, but at this writing the police have not reported any arrests.<br />

On April 4, 2007, Sri Lankan security forces said they had arrested two NVPF local<br />

staff members in Trincomalee after discovering a grenade in their car. NVPF said it<br />

had “no reason <strong>to</strong> suspect its staff of deliberately carrying the hand grenade” and<br />

that the organization “can only assume that the said grenade was placed in the<br />

vehicle without the knowledge of our staff.” NVPF alerted other nongovernmental<br />

organizations and UN agencies “<strong>to</strong> be vigilant <strong>to</strong> the possibility of further<br />

occurrences of this nature.” 204 Police released the men on April 16, but they are<br />

scheduled <strong>to</strong> appear in court in July, apparently on charges of possessing illegal<br />

weapons. 205 The police seem <strong>to</strong> have conducted a professional investigation, but the<br />

Ministry of Defence issued a statement on its website on the day of the arrests,<br />

entitled “Non Violent Peace Force Caught with Its Pants Down—Trincomalee,” 206 that<br />

further stirred anti-NGO sentiment by suggesting the NVPF members were guilty<br />

before trial. The Sri Lankan army website also posted pho<strong>to</strong>graphs of the arrested<br />

NVPF staff but shortly thereafter <strong>to</strong>ok them down.<br />

The Ministry of Defence issued a second statement on April 6 that alleged one of the<br />

two suspects had ties <strong>to</strong> the LTTE. The statement elaborated on the alleged link<br />

between nongovernmental organizations and the armed group:<br />

202 <strong>Human</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> <strong>Watch</strong> interview, Batticaloa, February 27, 2007.<br />

203 “Attack on International NGOs an Act of Terror,” Sri Lankan government statement, May 22, 2006,<br />

http://www.news.lk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=140&Itemid=51 (accessed July 3, 2007).<br />

204 Nonviolent Peaceforce, “Statement of NPSL on the Trinco Incident,” April 4, 2007.<br />

205 “Hand grenade discovery - NPSL is concerned and perplexed,” Ministry of Defence news release, April 6, 2007,<br />

http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20070406_07 (accessed July 3, 2007).<br />

206 “Non Violent Peace Force Caught with Its Pants Down—Trincomalee,” Ministry of Defence news release, April 4, 2007,<br />

http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20070404_04 (accessed April 5, 2007).<br />

<strong>Return</strong> <strong>to</strong> <strong>War</strong> 94

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