Are Sri Lankas anti-terror arrests an attempt to intimidate activists?

Sri Lankan human rights activist Ruki Fernando, pictured in 2009

By Tim Hume, C

! "ed #arch $9, 20$%

(CNN) A prominent Sri Lankan rights activist controversially detained by his government under anti-terror laws says he believes his arrest was partly spurred by an international push to independently investigate the country s human rights record !ollowing decades o! civil war" #uki $ernando% one o! his country s leading human rights activists% was arrested late Sunday night with !ellow activist #ev" &raveen 'ahesan% a #oman Catholic priest% in the !ormer (amil stronghold o! )ilinochchi in the country s north" (he men were taken to the Colombo head*uarters o! Sri Lanka s (errorist +nvestigation ,ivision% held !or more than -. hours and *uestioned% without access to lawyers% be!ore being released early 'onday" /+ think it s a deliberate attempt to intimidate and suppress any !orm o! dissent% criticism or challenge% and clearly not allow people outside Sri Lanka to know what s happening inside the country%/ $ernando told CNN a!ter his release" /+ anticipate that + will be sub0ect to greater scrutiny and + am e1tremely worried about the sa!ety and wellbeing o! my colleagues and

people + ve spoken to in the past"/ (he arrests drew a wave o! condemnation !rom N23s and !oreign governments% with 4ritish $oreign 3!!ice 'inister 5ugo Swire saying they were 6not acceptable7 and the 8"S" 9mbassy e1pressing concern" $red Carver o! the 8)-based Sri Lanka Campaign !or &eace and :ustice said the invocation o! anti-terror laws was 6outrageous7 and 6patently absurd"7 6(hey re peace activists%7 he said" &roposed resolution (he arrests occurred in the build-up to a crucial session o! the 8nited Nations 5uman #ights Council this month% at which a resolution sponsored by the 8nited States% 4ritain and other countries is e1pected to be tabled" (he proposed resolution could call !or an independent international investigation into war crimes committed by government !orces and (amil separatists during Sri Lanka s ;<-year civil war% which ended in ;==>% as well as more recent alleged government abuses in the !ive years since its end" (he council has passed two previous resolutions urging Sri Lanka to investigate war crimes% but its perceived !ailure to do so has led some nations to call !or an independent investigation" Sri Lankan police spokesman A0ith #ohana said $ernando !aced three charges? selling in!ormation abroad% attempting to damage the national harmony between communities% and aiding and abetting the rebuilding o! the (amil (igers the brutal militant group involved in !ighting !or a (amil homeland in the north o! the country during the decades-long civil war" (he investigation had !ound insu!!icient evidence to proceed with the charges" $ernando said the !irst two charges% which appeared to relate to his work with !oreign media to highlight rights abuses% suggested that their arrest was motivated in strong part by the impending events in 2eneva" /+ think what happened to us is very much linked to the resolution discussion%/ he said" /+ was repeatedly asked who in 2eneva% who outside Sri Lanka% was + sharing in!ormation with@ +t seemed very clear they took great care !or other nations not to hear any alternative in!ormation or perspectives !rom within Sri Lanka"/ AAttempt to intimidateA Carver said that% beyond the Sri Lankan government s 6thumbing its nose at 2eneva%7 the arrests amounted to an attempt to intimidate those working to e1pose human rights abuses in post-war Sri Lanka" /+ think this is about sending a warning to human rights de!enders that 0ust because 2eneva is going their way they haven t won% and more importantly showing them that they cannot inter!ace with 8"N" processes without su!!ering conse*uences" So i! an investigation is established% they better not testi!y"/

4ut #ohana denied that there was any attempt to intimidate or punish those involved in activism around the 8"N" resolution" 5e said the activists had been arrested a!ter visiting a place o! interest relating to the shooting o! a policeman in the )ilinochchi area last week" $ernando% a Catholic !rom the country s Sinhalese ma0ority% denies any connection to the shooting or those responsible" 5e said he and 'ahesan% a (amil% had gone to investigate the !acts surrounding the arrest o! another activist in relation to the shooting% in the regular course o! their human rights work" (he activist% :eyakumari 4alendran% became a prominent campaigner against political disappearances a!ter her teen son% who had been conscripted to !ight !or the (igers% went missing a!ter reportedly surrendering at the end o! the war" She was arrested $riday on suspicion o! harboring )"&" Selvanayagam% a (amil (iger-a!!iliated !igure also known as 62obi%7 a!ter he shot and wounded a policeman as authorities closed in on her house% according to a Sri Lankan government memo to the 8"N" $ernando denied any connection to Selvanayagam" 'i1ed !ortunes (he end o! Sri Lanka s civil war has been a boon to its economy% paving the way !or in!rastructure reconstruction and the return o! tourists% and bolstering &resident 'ahinda #a0apaksa s popularity" 4ut activists are calling on the international community to pay attention to conditions in (amilma0ority areas in the north and east o! the country" A large military presence is at the heart o! complaints o! ongoing land e1propriation% disappearances% se1ual violations% arbitrary arrests and limitations on the !reedom o! movement% according to rights groups" 'eanwhile an ongoing 6SinhaliBation7 process in which the 4uddhist culture and places o! worship o! the Sinhalese community were replacing the 5indu landscape o! (amil areas was a serious concern% as was growing hostility towards Christian and 'uslim minorities% according to a 0oint memorandum submitted by civil society groups to the 8"N" earlier this month" +n a report in $ebruary% the 3!!ice o! the 8"N" s 5igh Commissioner !or 5uman #ights acknowledged Sri Lanka s progress made in implementing some o! the recommendations o! the Lessons Learnt and #econciliation Commission% its national mechanism !or post-war reconciliation" 4ut it noted the government had !ailed to ensure independent and credible investigations into past violations% and noted ongoing attacks on religious minorities and intimidation o! human rights activists% lawyers and 0ournalists"