Karuna Amman’s supporter abducts and kills school boy in Jaffna

Chaavakachcheari police recovered Saturday the body of the 17-year-old student who was abducted from his house in Madaththadi in Chaavakachcheari North, Jaffna Peninsula, on 14 March for a ransom of 30 million rupees, from the backyard of a house on Dutch Road in Chaavakachcheari, sources in Jaffna said. The body was recovered from the plantain garden in the backyard of one of the three friends of the victim arrested and detained in Jaffna prison, the sources added.

Unidentified men arriving at the house of Thiruchelvam, a popular merchant in Madaththadi in Chaavakachcheari North abducted his son, Kapilnath, 17, student of a leading educational institution in Jaffna.

The abductors had kept demanding 30 million rupees as ransom to release the boy using various phones from the time of abduction until Monday dawn and had threatened to kill the boy if the money was not paid, according to the merchant.
Sources from the police have revealed that the school boy from Chavakachcheri was abducted to receive ransom money and later killed by one of Karuna Amman’s supporters.

Although the person who had killed the boy has been taken into custody, the mastermind behind the plan it is learnt is still at large.

During the questioning of the man in custody it had been revealed that the boy was abducted killed and his body was buried in the suspect’s compound in Chavakachcheri.

The body of the student was exhumed yesterday and the post mortem was held at the Jaffna Hospital yesterday.

The post mortem report stated that the boy was strangled to death.

Eezham Tamil woman in Tamil Nadu refugee camp burned herself to death

Eezham Tamil woman in Tamil Nadu refugee camp commits suicide due to sexual abuse by 3 policemen.

Tamil woman from Sri Lanka held in the Refugee camp for Sri Lankans in Karoor district in Tamil Nadu died Sunday night in Karoor government hospital where she had been admitted two weeks ago when she had set herself ablaze unable to bear being sexually molested by three Tamil Nadu policemen.
Ms. Kumar Pathmathevi, 28, had said in her statement to a feminist human rights activist that the policemen took her to a private house and molested her instead of taking her to the police station to be interrogated about her husband Kumar who was wanted in a homicide case. Various civil organizations in Jaffna peninsula as well as in Tamil Nadu are in uproar against the police cremating the body of Pathmathevi, against the law of the country.

The three policemen who had sexually molested had warned Pathmathevi not to divulge the incident to anyone and that they will shoot dead her husband Kumar if she did so, according to Pathmathevi’s statement given from her death bed to the human rights activist woman.

The burning of Pathmathevi’s remains which should have been interned by the police has raised suspicion that the three policemen are guilty of the offence alleged.

Corruption under Sinhalese occupation is sky-rocketing

Distilling and selling of illicit liquor (kasippu) flourishes in many parts in Jaffna peninsula as excise and police officers, being bribed, turn a blind eye to this illicit trade which is even provided with men with grenades to guard the kasippu joints, according to accusations raised by civil society sources in Jaffna. Vaddukkoaddai police arrested a youth Saturday at the toddy tavern in Moo’laay under suspicion and recovered a hand grenade in his possession. When produced at Mallaakam courts he testified that he had been posted there to guard the brewers and sellers from the police and excise officers, sources in Jaffna said.

Poor farmers are the customers who fall victims of becoming addicts to this liquor which contains a high amount of methylin which is injurious to health and brings death in some cases.

Kasippu is produced in places near Jaffna town and other rural areas in the peninsula.

A culture of arms prevails in the peninsula which has now embraced illicit distilling and selling of liquor along with the abductions, extortions which had escalated in recent times, the sources further said.

UK is concern about war crimes, deteriorating status of the rule of law and freedom of expression in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is the only country added on the annual human rights report by Britain this year as a country of concern by the Foreign Affairs Committee, according to British Foreign Office. The Annual report on Human Rights 2009 presented 17 March to British Parliament says, ‘Since the last report, we have added one country of concern. We agreed with the Foreign Affairs Committee’s recommendation to include Sri Lanka. This reflects our concern about allegations of serious conflict violations, as well as the deteriorating status of the rule of law and freedom of expression.’

The following are some excerpts of the HR report:

‘Human Rights Council Special Session on Sri Lanka

The EU led efforts in May to call a special session of the HRC in response to the situation in Sri Lanka. We found support for the session from select members of other regional groups who shared our concerns. Together we worked hard on a draft resolution that could be presented to the wider HRC membership, even those with misgivings about the focus on Sri Lanka, as a constructive expression of HRC concern.

In doing so we hoped for a consensus outcome. Sri Lanka, unfortunately, tabled a text with a different purpose, which was passed by majority vote. The UK could not agree with their assessment of the situation and voted against the resolution because it:

• omitted to reaffirm that it is the primary responsibility of the state to ensure protection of the human rights of all persons under its jurisdiction;

• failed to call on the government of Sri Lanka to start an inclusive political process, which would address the legitimate concerns of all of Sri Lanka’s communities; and

• did not address the need to ensure the protection of human rights defenders, journalists and minorities or the right to freedom of expression.

The session, nonetheless, presented an opportunity for many States, UN Special Procedures, and the High Commissioner for Human Rights to put on record the plight of civilians caught up in it. We continue to believe that the situation merited the attention of the UN’s primary human rights body and that it was right to call the session.’

‘Since the end of the conflict we have been calling, along with the EU, for an independent and credible process to address possible violations of IHL. The Sri Lankan government has made little progress.

In October, President Rajapakse announced the formation of a committee to look into a US State Department report on possible violations. In late December, the President extended the deadline for the committee to report until the end of April 2010.’

‘Freedom of Expression

Sri Lanka ranks 162 out of 175 countries in the Reporters without Borders Press Freedom Index 2009. The environment for free expression deteriorated in the early part of 2009 as the conflict intensified.’

‘A Tamil journalist, J S Tissainayagam, was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment on 31 August for charges related to his writing. In addition, Tamil language newspapers (such as Sudar Oli, Uthayan and Valampuri) continue to operate in extremely difficult conditions, with their staff regularly receiving anonymous threats.’

‘Disappearances and Abductions

Reports of abductions and disappearances of civilians continued throughout 2009. In the vast majority of cases the reported victims are Tamil civilians.’

TID interrogates 700 civilians

About seven hundred civilians are being detained by the Terrorism Investigations Division (TID) and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Sri Lanka Police under the Emergency Regulations, Colombo media reported quoting TID sources. Most of the detainees were arrested during the last months of the war. The State of Emergency was extended by the dissolved parliament during the first week of this month.

Meanwhile, the dissolved parliament is due to be reconvened on April 6 to extend the State of Emergency for another month.

The new parliament to be elected on April 8 is scheduled to hold its first sitting on April 22, sources said.

‘Sinhala Only’ in Jaffna

‘Sinhala Only’ in a government office opening event in Jaffna.


Local media reporters in Jaffna peninsula staged a walkout Monday from the official opening of Sri Lanka Foreign Employment (SLFE) branch in Nalloor in Jaffna Monday when it was conducted in Sinhalese language only. Tamil Minister Douglas Devananda was also present at the event along with Northern Province Governor, G. A. Chandrasiri. Meanwhile, the Governor and the Minister later participated in the foundation stone laying ceremony for the new building of Jaffna Municipal Council in its original premises. The government is fervent in opening various offices and laying foundation stones for new buildings in an attempt to entice the voters of Jaffna peninsula, civil society circles in Jaffna observed.


President of SLFE Welfare Organization, Kingsley Rananwathe and its Secretary, Susil Srisena had come to Jaffna from Colombo SLFE head office to officially open the branch in Jaffna.

How could an office meant to help the residents of Jaffna district achieve its goals if it cannot conduct its affairs in Tamil, asked local journalists.

The main building of JMC had been blown up during the war in 1985.

Tissainayagam wins British Press award

Senior Tamil Journalist J.S Tissainayagam currently in bail after being incarcerated in Sri Lanka for nearly twenty two months as part of a 20 years in prison sentence, won the prestigious International journalist of the year during the award ceremony held at the Grosvenor Hotel, London, on Tuesday, 23 March. "International journalist of the year recognises the courage of an overseas journalist who has battled against oppression and who has helped a British national newspaper report. Nominees are provided by the Foreign Press Association and the World Association of Newspapers," the British Press Awards website said.

Tissaianyagam was charged under Sri Lanka's draconian anti-terror laws for causing disharmony among ethnic communities by publishing two articles in an online website.

"Although released on bail, Tissa remains afraid for his life and lives in isolation from his family and friends because of this fear. He cannot practice his trade and simply has no life," BBC said quoting one of Tissainayagam's colleagues.

Amnesty International named Tissainayagam as a Prisoner of Conscience, held a vigil in UK in early September 2009, and said "[w]e gathered to protest against the sentencing of Jayaprakash Sittampalam Tissainayagam, known as Tissa to his friends and family, to 20 years ‘vigorous imprisonment’ by the Government of Sri Lanka."

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) honoured Tissainayagam with its 2009 International Press Freedom Awards at a ceremony in November 2009.

Tissainayagam also won the coveted Peter Mackler Award for courageous and ethical journalism, named for a 30-year veteran of Agence France-Presse who died last year, at a ceremony at the National Press Club in US in October 2009