The lack of security has had a major impact on the civilian population in the North and East where NP is active. Some of the more serious incidents in recent weeks have included the bomb blasts that killed civilians in Colombo, and the continuous assassinations, abductions and child recruitments. Amnesty International and other reputable sources have confirmed that the LTTE is engaging in forcible recruitment of both children and adult civilians on a large scale basis.
The continued worsening of the human security of the people is accompanied by the escalation of military operations between the government and LTTE. The shelling by government on LTTE areas in Thopigalla, the last LTTE position in the east, continued while air bombings and sea battles intensified in the north. Even the ICRC withdrew from the buffer zone in the north several times as a result of the shelling by the LTTE.
According to some preliminary findings gathered by PAFFREL about 30 police and military personnel are among 452 persons arrested in connection with human rights abuses, including abduction, disappearances and murders. Most violations, however, go unreported and uninvestigated. Nevertheless, the government recently decided to give more powers to the military; the armed forces are now expected to perform the functions of the police as well.
Early June, two Red Cross volunteers were abducted and shot dead by gunmen claiming to be policemen. The two, both from the Tamil community in the East, had been kidnapped from a railway station in Colombo on a Friday night when they returned from a workshop on Tsunami reconstruction. Their bodies were found near central Sri Lankan town of Ratnapura. The deliberate killings of humanitarian workers are one of the gruesome symptoms of the current phase of the conflict. Earlier incidents included the abduction and killing of TRO humanitarian workers in Welikanda in January 2006, the killing of ACF humanitarian workers in Mutur in August 2006 and more recent killing of a Chief Priest of a Buddhist temple in Moraweva in May 2007. The monk was a renowned worker for peace and tried to ensure inter-ethnic amity despite the divisions that are being created due to the war.
The atmosphere between the ethnic communities is worsening. This month, the police forcibly transported over 350 Tamil people out of Colombo overnight. This included many women and children who had been temporarily residing in Colombo in lodges and rented places. The eviction of Tamil citizens back to the north and east provoked a feeling of anguish, alienation and bitter anger within the entire Tamil community, and condemnation from other Sri Lankans and the international community. Thanks to the Center of Policy Alternatives which immediately filed a fundamental rights petition with the Supreme Court, an interim order was issued to stop the unlawful and discriminatory practice and many of those deported were allowed to return.
Some members of the international community such as the UK, USA and the Netherlands decided to hold back aid due to what they consider an appalling human rights situation in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka's largest donor Japan is still not considering any form of conditionality, but it recently expressed serious concerns over the ongoing human rights violations in Sri Lanka through the Japanese envoy Akashi. Although the USA continues to support the government of Sri Lanka, it also stated that it must dissolve and disarm the K group which is operating freely in government controlled areas.
The fifth session of the Human Rights Commission in Geneva produced no tangible results on Sri Lanka. Similarly, Norway received once again the support by the Co-chairs in a working group meeting which is gradually becoming an excuse for inaction on the escalating conflict of Sri Lanka by the international community.
The lack of clear and robust messages internationally is making it very difficult for NPSL and other (I)NGOs to operate. In fact, the lack of a unified approach has further reduced the humanitarian space and has increased the risk for staff. This is clearly noticeable in the East and North.
In the East, a new challenge has emerged with the split within the TMVP (the political party of the “K-group”). This development has lead to more danger and less accountability. Dozens of underage recruits escaped from the K group when the split happened but had no place to go. In several cases the K group held family members of the children hostage until the escapees returned, a practice that is widely used also by the LTTE.
The work of NP
The level of fear of the families to report such cases is extremely high so NPSL raises these issues with police and military who are responsible for the security in the areas. At one point an armed group prevented a mother and child from visiting the NPSL office in Valaichchenai. NPSL brought this to the attention of the local commander and held talks with the armed group about the incident. This resulted in an apology to the mother by the group member that made the threat. Such a response is rare and many incidents continue to take place while those who try to speak openly are being silenced or threatened including the staff of international agencies.
So far, the efforts to accompany parents to interact with the TMVP offices in the East have produced little results in terms of releases. In May, NPSL accompanied a group of mothers, who claim their children have been taken by the K group, to the TMVP political office in Colombo. Although the meeting was positive in terms of pledges for release made, it has gradually become clear that the TMVP in Colombo is not in a position to hold its military commanders accountable. Although the families have come forward to claim their right, it has also made them more vulnerable. NPSL intends to review the strategy and may shift its attention to the GoSL's responsibility now that the silence on this sensitive issue has been broken.
Following the release of one child after the dialogue with the TMVP was sought between the parents and the political office of the TMVP in Colombo, other parents requested NPSL to facilitate a collective meeting with the armed group.
The lack of capacity on safe places in the east is a major concern and it is diminishing the ability of NPSL to respond. It continues to receive many requests from families whose children are at risk. Progress to identify more safe spaces was made in talks with Sarvodaya but interest and advocacy by Sarvodaya supporters internationally would help the process.
NPSL IDP activities concentrated on the resettlement process. There was less pressure by the security forces this time as a result of the previous advocacy efforts by agencies including NPSL. The GoSL has also now started to distribute its own leaflet that state the rights IDPs have. NPSL continues to monitor the return, using its presence to allow for a better process, meaning more civilian and less military involvement. However, the presence of armed groups in IDP camps such as the K group continues to be a threat to the vulnerable population.
The TMVP split and the fighting in Thopigalla also affected the Trincomalee district. Hundreds of the TMVP cadres moved into Trincomalee while security forces stepped up the military activities in areas where LTTE cadres retired from the fighting in Batticaloa. Part of May NPSL kept its status of restricted operations due to the ongoing investigation into the grenade incident including the legal process of its two staff members it is tangled in, with the next hearing scheduled for July 16th. (That hearing led to a dismissal of the case so that our staff could go free.)
NPSL continues to support the Peace Committees in Trincomalee District. NPSL has been able to facilitate the activation and reactivation of some of the Peace Committees by connecting them to other local partners that provide trainings in, among other, human rights. This work may now be able to expand due to a recent donation by NP Japan and the Niwano foundation. Awareness training on community child protection is another area that NPSL is exploring in order to increase the involvement of the committees in sensitive issues that affect the communities. NPSL has also made plans for overnight stay in Mutur which will facilitate the connection with the Mutur Peace Committee and also visit areas such as Echchilampattai, an area where NPSL used to work before the battle in Mutur last August and only now has become accessible again.
The situation in Jaffna remains extremely tense. Abductions continue including of students especially during curfew hours. Claymore mine attacks on SLA soldiers happen regularly. As a result, the SLA conducts cordon searches and roundups and has arrested hundreds of people during these checks. NPSL local partners are under significant threat. Their precarious situation has now forced them to leave the area. Despite this, 62 students graduated from a Human Rights course conducted by one of the local partners with the facilitation of NPSL. Many of them have volunteered to get involved working on the human rights violations that Jaffna is experiencing. NPSL has accompanied these volunteers to increase their confidence and reduce their fear about the important but risky work they will be involved in. NPSL is also involved in IDP security concerns in Jaffna. There is a request to assist in the return of IDPs to Allaipiddy. However, the risk these people will be exposed to upon return remains a big concern. They may be caught in the middle between attacks by the LTTE from the sea and navy and army defense.
The new NPSL Colombo Response Team (CRT) has made a good start. The activities that are being undertaken are advocacy, representations, connections with national peace and human rights organizations. The CRT has already been heavily involved in the protection of individuals at risk. It accompanied individuals to ICRC, Police, Human Rights Commission and political office of armed groups. Several of these cases have been part of NPSL work in the north and east but require attention in Colombo. More specifically, the CRT was able to involve the witness and victims protection unit of the international observers group currently present in Sri Lanka. This will hopefully increase the chances for more safety of several families that NPSL is assisting. At the moment, the CRT is developing a national level safety network together with local actors in Colombo. Its purpose is to increase the response capacity in Colombo in the protection concerns that civilians are dealing with.
Disappearances in Colombo seemed to have been reduced with the arrest of several individuals including an air force commander. Again, accusations about the involvement of high level government officials have come up in the press. It is learnt that the missing Vice-Chancellor of the Eastern University, which NPSL was actively trying to address, is dead. The family that sought the support of NP seems to have accepted the persistent rumors that appeared about his death even though there is no concrete evidence.
As indicated, NPSL is attempting to create space for local people at different levels. It has expanded its network significantly. Together with one of its partners it has been able to facilitate a networking and coordination and advocacy initiative between UNICEF and Colombo civil society actors.
Due to the involvement by NPSL in sensitive cases and the fact that few other organizations take them up, it also makes NPSL and the local partners more vulnerable. It is believed that the Trincomalee grenade incident where a grenade was found in our car is a result of the work by NP. In May, NPSL and other organizations received threats by email. This has been addressed at the highest levels and the threats stopped. NPSL takes these threats very serious but takes a proactive approach, thus continues to seek the dialogue with possible perpetrators and those who have the potential to make threats. At the same time, NPSL has revised and improved its security protocols and awareness with the arrival of the Security Coordinator, Bernard O’Sullivan, who has established a Security Working Group within NPSL.
NPSL welcomed three new FTMs early June – Gabriela Chiani (Italy), Jyoti Chakma (Germany) and Ali Palh (Pakistan) who were able to take part in one of NPSL's workshops before their deployment in the east. This retreat was a success - progress was made on some of the outstanding issues such as work plans and information management and the relaxing environment also served to reconnect with colleagues and to get recharged.
In May, NPSL also greeted NP’s two external evaluators (Hagen Berndt and Hakima Habib) who came to Sri Lanka to hold interviews with NPSL staff and partners. Their report will be ready in July.
As part of the strategy, NPSL is developing the skills of the staff to be able to deal with the many areas it is involved in. Several staff, both national and international, took part in courses on IDP protection and advocacy. At the same time, NPSL believes it should share its lessons within the wider NP. For this reason, NPSL staff member, King, participated in the training of assessors in France. In Colombo, interviews were held for various local and international positions including a new Communication Manager and Grants Manager. (Early July, NPSL hired Niruban Muttiah (Sri Lanka) as new Communication Manager at NPSL.)
The months of July and August are generally difficult for NPSL. Many of our colleagues are on much deserved leave, just like the staff of other international actors in Sri Lanka. This is also understood by the combatants who, no doubt, will try to take advantage of the reduced presence of internationals.
Report written by Marcel Smits (Project Director) and Christine Schweitzer (Programme Director)