Untitled - International Commission of Jurists

elow; 63 percent of those who disappeared were below the age of 30. 273
were also intensely victimised.
Women
Not only were personal scores settled but some of the personal scores seem to
be directly linked with the femaleness of the victim. Further, all parties to the
civil conflict had an established pattern of warning off potential members of
the other side by killing or harassing relatives of known members of the
opposite camp. This practice obviously affected the persons who were most at
home – women and children. 274
The nature of the liability on the part of the government is a strong and common
factor in all three Commission reports. Large numbers of senior politicians were
implicated in the findings of the Commissions, some of them ministers of Cabinet
rank at the time, as disclosed in the annexes to these Commission reports, the contents
of which though sent under confidential cover to President Kumaratunge, were leaked
to the media.
In the annexes to the report of the 1994 Central, North Western, North Central and
Uva Disappearances Commission for example, the then Justice, National Integration,
Law Reform & Buddha Sasana was implicated in three disappearances, the then
Minister of Central Regional Development in nine disappearances, the then Minister
of Water Development in four disappearances, the then Minister of Irrigation in one
disappearance and a particularly controversial member of parliament was alleged to
be implicated in thirty disappearances in his area. Many of these individuals are still
very much present in the political arena.
Apart from these individuals, some twenty-seven members of parliament, fourteen
provincial council members, twelve grama niladharis (local level administrative
officers) and a Buddhist priest, along with twenty police superintendents, fifty-one
police officers-in-charge (OICs), twelve army captains and four majors, were
implicated in this Commission Report. 275 A notable fact is that two police OICs (one
posted in the Central Province and the other in the North-West Province) were
implicated (between them) in fifty-four disappearances. This is a good illustration of
the climate of impunity that prevailed.
In proceedings before the 1994 Western, Southern and Sabaragamuwa
Disappearances Commission, the following telling evidence was given by then senior
army and police officers as to the political pressure that was brought to bear upon
them in the performance of their duties:
While I was co-ordinating officer Ratnapura, certain political pressures were
brought to bear upon me. I was given a list of names with the directions to
take them into custody, that they were JVPers. I received the list from a former
Minister. When I checked the list with the police, I came to know that they
273 ibid.
274 Final report of the 1994 Western, Southern and Sabaragamuwa Disappearances Commission,
Sessional Paper No V, 1997, at p. 125.
275 Imran Vitatchi, ‘Disappearances Commissions point finger at UNP Politicos and Security Officers,’
The Sunday Times, 15.03.1998.
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