Bodies of murder victims likely
those of kidnapped Tamils
On Saturday 24 February, five bodies, showing
the signs of an execution-style killing, were found in a swamp near
Now, for the first time, a state official has
admitted the involvement of police and security forces in the abductions. Last
week Deputy Inspector General of Police, Ashoka Wijethileka, said to a media conference that former
soldiers, serving soldiers and police officers have been arrested in connection
with the abductions. He further commented, “The magnitude of the problem is yet
to be assessed. But the fact remains that there are a few groups like this
operating. Some of them including ex-soldiers, serving soldiers, police
officers, underworld gangs and other organised elements have been arrested. But
that does not mean we have fully and completely investigated the problem.”
The least that can be said is that this
statement is a serious blow to the Sri Lankan government’s reputation!
Far from being a solution to the problem, the
statement is significant because the attitude of the police towards investigating
the killings and abductions has so far been one of open and outright passivity.
However it is very unlikely the investigation will unmask all those responsible
for the killings and violence.
This January brought clear proof of the
direct involvement of figures in the government and close to the president in
extra-judicial sectarian violence when Deputy Minister Mervyn
Silva led an attack by thugs on an anti-war rally in
Siritunga Jayasuriya, who is
secretary of the United Socialist Party (CWI Sri Lanka) and also chairperson of
the CMC – the body set up to investigate the murders and campaign against the
war - nearly lost his life in the attack. Siriritunga
and others of the CMC have made an official complaint to the government and the
police, but the thugs have not been arrested and Mervyn
Silva is still in government.
It is clear that the abductions and murders
are not the work of isolated groups or individuals nor are they imaginable
without the sectarian climate created by the Sri Lankan government.
On many occasions, Siritunga
has explained the background to the killings and abductions. In a statement
that was published after the sectarian assassination of Tamil MP and former
Mayor of Jaffna, Nadarajah Raviraj, he wrote, “Raviraj’s
death is not just one accident, but one in a spate of selected killings by
armed men who could move about quite freely. This was the case even in high
security
Therefore, in order to reach a lasting peace,
there must be an end put to the sectarian - and oppressive policies of the
government. Real investigations with the involvement of the people affected
must be conducted. All those involved in disappearances and violence against
Tamils or anti-war activists should be brought to justice. A campaign is needed
not only against the gangsters who perpetrate these crimes but against the
war-mongering and communalist government.
Those who oppose the racist inspired terror
in
Attempts by the government and by Sri Lankan
government representatives around the world to portray these campaigns as
supporting individual terrorism are totally malicious and ungrounded. They are
aimed at creating an atmosphere of fear, at intimidating and isolating all left
forces and workers’ organisations. In particular it is aimed against socialists
like those in the United Socialist Party who are continually fighting against
war and for the rights of workers and oppressed minorities. By building the
anti-war movement and building international solidarity the cracks in the
government can be further opened up.
In the mean time the international solidarity
campaign continues to make progress. Support has come from