Sri Lanka aims to almost quadruple foreign investment this year
[ AFP ] [ 12:15 GMT, Mar. 9, 2006 ]
Sri Lanka aims to almost quadruple foreign investment from 2005 to one billion dollars this year by raising the amount of cash required to earn tax breaks, the country's investment arm said. "We have raised minimum investment levels in order to attract bigger investors and boost total investments," Lakshman Watawala, chairman of the Sri Lankan Board of Investment (BoI), told reporters on Thursday. To meet this year's target, the minimum investment for any company has been hiked to 250,000 dollars from 50,000 dollars effective immediately, Watawala said. In 2005, the country attracted foreign investment worth 280 million dollars.
Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister visits Europe for talks on island's peace process
[ AP ] [ 12:16 GMT, Mar. 9, 2006 ]
Sri Lanka's foreign minister left Thursday for Europe to discuss the island nation's peace process, as a resumption of violence threatened to derail a fragile four-year-old truce. Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera will visit Britain, France and Belgium for talks on "a range of bilateral issues and certainly, the peace process too," said foreign ministry spokeswoman Himalee Arunathilake. Samaraweera will meet British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, as well as French counterpart Phillippe Douste-Blazy and Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the European Union's external relations commissioner.
Protesting Sri Lankan tsunami refugees occupy government building
[ WSWS ] [ 12:17 GMT, Mar. 9, 2006 ]
Tsunami refugees from Kalmunai in eastern Sri Lanka occupied local divisional secretariat premises on February 22 in an angry protest over the failure of government authorities to provide permanent housing. The mostly Muslim and Tamil populated area was one of the worst affected by the tidal wave which struck Sri Lanka on December 26, 2004. Fourteen months later, the refugees are still living in temporary shelters. The occupation forced the closure of the Kalmunai municipal council, the area health department and the urban development authority. It ended on March 1, after Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, via a special satellite communication link, promised protestors that they would be provided permanent housing within three months.
President's wish of transparency can only come true with the elimination of delays in justice
[ Asian Human Rights Commission ] [ 14:10 GMT, Mar. 9, 2006 ]
According to a newspaper report on March 8, 2006 the President of Sri Lanka noted the existing corruption within government agencies and urged the Bribery and Corruption Investigation Commission to implement measures 'more widely and extensively to check these tendencies'. One day prior to this, comments made by the Director General of the Bribery Commission together with the Inspector General of Police (IGP) regarding the level of corruption prevalent throughout Sri Lanka were quoted in the same newspaper. According to the Director General, 68 per cent of state officers are corrupt, while the IGP opined that if action was taken against all police officers who were corrupt, there would be none left in the department. Two weeks earlier, two senior judges resigned from their positions in the Judicial Service Commission due to matters of conscience.
SRI LANKA: A pregnant woman and her husband brutally assaulted by the Rathgama police
URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION URGENT ACTION
ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME
Urgent Appeal
6 March 2006
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UA-085-2006: SRI LANKA: A pregnant woman and her husband brutally assaulted by the Rathgama police
SRI LANKA: Torture; police brutality; un-rule of law; impunity
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Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding a brutal torture of a young couple, namely Mr. D. Indika Wasantha and Mrs. Kumudini Malkanthi, by the Rathgama police on 16 February 2006. It is alarming that the police did not hesitate to assault the eight months pregnant woman, who was on her way to hospital at the time to meet with a doctor. Ms. Malkanthi was in a serious condition and there is a possibility that the unborn child may have suffered from irreparable damage due to the assault. It is alleged that the couple was arbitrarily taken into custody and assaulted by the police due to the husband's refusal to lend his vehicle to the police a few days before the incident. Despite their complaints to the Galle police, no arrest has been made against the alleged perpetrators.
At around 5:30pm on 16 February 2006, D. Indika Wasantha left his house in Owakanda, Rathgama to take his eight months pregnant wife, Kumudini Malkanthi, to a doctor as she was complaining of severe abdominal pains. However, they were caught in rush hour traffic jam. When his vehicle slowly approached near the Rathgama Police Station, Inspector of Police (IP) Jayarathne, who was standing in front of the station, shouted loudly at Mr. Wasantha, “Ado(‘Hey you)!". When Mr. Wasantha stopped his vehicle, IP Jayarathne ordered him to drive his vehicle into the police station premises. When Mr. Wasantha inquired into the reason for this, the IP only replied, “you will find out inside the police station." Even though Mrs. Malkanthi asked the IP to allow them to go because they were rushing to see a doctor, the IP refused to listen to her.
When Mr. Wasantha drove his vehicle into the police station premises, IP Jayarathne called out to his colleagues, including Police Constable (PC) No 63063 and five others (four in uniform and one in civilian clothes), to come outside. Immediately PC No. 63063 slapped Mr. Wasantha's face without saying a word. Seeing that her husband was bleeding from his lip, Mrs. Malkanthi begged the PC not to assault him. Again, she explained that they were rushing to the hospital as she had severe abdominal pains and begged the policemen to let them go. Instead, IP Jayarathne verbally abused her in filthy, degrading and humiliating language.
Mr. Wasantha could not bear the verbal insult on his wife and alighted from his vehicle. Six or seven policemen then immediately pounced on him and brutally assaulted him with their fists and boots. When Mrs. Malkanthi tried to shield her husband, the policemen also beat her body, including her abdomen. She finally fell unconscious. But the policemen did not even attempt to take her to the hospital and continued to beat Mr. Wasantha.
Meanwhile, several villagers gathered outside the police station and saw the incident. They shouted at the police to stop assaulting Mr. Wasantha and his wife and urged them to allow Ms. Malkanthi to be taken to hospital. However, the policemen did not listen to the villagers and attempted to drag the injured Mr. Wasantha into the station. The villagers then prevented the police from doing so and helped Mr. Wasantha and his wife to leave for the hospital.
On the same day (February 16), both Mr. Wasantha and Mrs. Malkanthi were admitted to the Karapitiya Hospital. The doctors, who examined the wife, said that she was in a very serious condition and may be in risk of losing her child. She was later transferred to the Mahamodara Hospital where she was treated for four days. Mr. Wasantha was also hospitalised for two days. Ms. Malkanthi was to give birth in April but the doctors informed her that the due to the assault she is to return to the hospital in March to deliver the baby by caesarean section. The couple fear that their unborn child may have suffered from irreparable damage due to the brutal assault by the Rathgama police.
The couple subsequently complained about the incident to both the hospital authorities and the Galle police, who visited them in hospital to obtain their statement. However, no serious action has yet been taken by the police to investigate the incident and the alleged perpetrators are still at large. Mr. Wasantha claims that the reason for the assault on him and his wife is that he refused IP Jayarathne's request to lend his vehicle to the policemen, who wanted to use it to attend a wedding function, a few days before the incident. He believes that the incident was in revenge for his refusal.
Sri Lankan police have been notorious for their brutality including arbitrary arrest, detention and torture of innocent people for a long time. The situation is all the more alarming as the National Police Commission (NPC), which was given power of disciplinary control over the police by way of the 17th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution, has not functioned since last November 2005 after its mandate finished. However, instead of appointing new commissioners to the NPC, the Sri Lankan government has been delaying this process and meanwhile several senior government officials have openly said that the NPC's power should be transferred to the Inspector General of Police (IPC). This, however, is totally against the objective of the amended constitution. To learn details of this issue, please refer to the following AHRC statements: AS-131-2005, AS-001-2006, AS-003-2006 and AS-24-2006.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the concerned authorities listed below and urge them to launch an immediate and thorough investigation into this case and take action to arrest and prosecute the alleged perpetrators as soon as possible. Please also urge them to suspend the concerned officers or transfer them to another region for the security of the victims while the investigation is going on, and provide adequate compensation to the victims. Please also urge the Sri Lankan government to take immediate steps to appoint new commissioners to the NPC in accordance with the 17th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution.
Suggested letter:
Dear __________,
SRI LANKA: A pregnant woman and her husband were brutally assaulted by the Rathgama police after being arbitrarily taken into custody
Names of victims:
1. Mr. D Indika Wasantha, aged 28, businessman, of Owakanda, Rathgama, Sri Lanka
2. Mrs. H.L. Kumudini Malkanthi, 8 months pregnant, Mr. Wasantha's wife
Names of alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Jayarathne, Inspector of Police (IP) of the Rathgama Police Station
2. Police Constable No. 63063 of the Rathgama Police Station
3. Around five other officers attached to the Rathgama Police Station, who can be identified by the victims.
Time and date of incident: At around 5:30pm on 16 February 2006
Place of incident: Rathgama Police Station
I was appalled to learn about the inhuman torture and ill-treatment of an eight months pregnant woman and her husband by the Rathgama police on 16 February 2006.
According to the information I have received, at around 5:30pm on February 16 Mr. Wasantha and Mrs. Malkanthi were rushing to hospital when they were stopped and taken into police custody by IP Jayarathne without being given any reason for this. In the police station premises, Mr. Wasantha was brutally assaulted by the said IP and five to six other police officers, including Police Constable No. 63063. They also beat Mrs. Malkanthi's body, including her abdomen, before she fell unconscious. The couple was only able to leave for hospital after the local villagers' strong intervention in the incident.
Mrs. Malkanthi, who was in serous condition, was admitted to the Karapitiya Hospital and later transferred to the Mahamodara Hospital where she was treated for four days. Mr. Wasantha was also hospitalised for two days due to his injuries. According to the doctor who examined Mrs. Malkanthi, the assault on her body has endangered her unborn child. The couple now fears that their child may have suffered irreparable damage.
I was also informed that even though the couple complained about the incident to the police station at the hospital and the Galle police, no serious action has yet been taken by the police either to investigate the incident or to arrest the alleged perpetrators. It is also shocking that this brutal incident was most likely the result of a personal matter. According to Mr. Wasantha, the incident was in revenge for his refusal to IP Jayarathne's request to lend his vehicle to the policeman a few days before the incident.
In light of the above, I urge you to order an immediate and thorough investigation into this incident and arrest and prosecute the officers responsible for this inhuman act as soon as possible. I also request you to take appropriate action to provide adequate compensation to the victims. The concerned officers should be suspended or transferred to another region for the security of the victims while the investigation is going on.
Lastly, I strongly request you to urge the Sri Lakan government to take immediate steps to appoint new commissioners to the National Police Commission (NPC), which was given power of disciplinary control over the police by way of the 17th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution, without further delay. I firmly believe that a properly functioning NPC will significantly contribute to establishing a strict discipline within the police force and eliminate police torture and misconduct in the country.
Yours sincerely,
----------------------
PLESE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. Chandra Fernando.
Inspector General of Police (IGP)
New Secretariat
Colombo 1
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 421750 (Ext. *377)
Fax: +94 11 2 440440, 327877 or 446174
2. Mr. K. C. Kamalasabesan
Attorney General
Attorney General's Department
Colombo 12
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2 436421
3. National Police Commission
3rd Floor, Rotunda Towers,
109 Galle Road
Colombo 03
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 395310
Fax: +94 11 2 395867
Fax HOME: +94 11 2 674148
E-mail: [email:10266bc094]polcom@sltnet.lk[/email:10266bc094]
4. Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy
Chairperson
Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka
No. 36, Kynsey Road
Colombo 8
SRI LANKA
Tel: +94 11 2 694925 / 673806
Fax: +94 11 2 694924 / 696470
E-mail: [email:10266bc094]sechrc@sltnet.lk[/email:10266bc094]
5. Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse
President
Socialist Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka
C/- Office of the President
Temple Trees
150, Galle Road
Colombo 3
SRI LANKA
Fax: +94 11 2472100 / +94 11 2446657 (this is contact for Secretary to President)
Email: [email:10266bc094]secretary@presidentsoffice.lk[/email:10266bc094]
6. Prof. Manfred Nowak
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
Attn: Mr. Safir Syed
C/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9230
Fax: +41 22 917 9016 (general)
E-mail: [email:10266bc094]ssyed@ohchr.org[/email:10266bc094]
7. Ms. Yakin Erturk
Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women
c/o Ms Vernonica Birga
Room 3-042
c/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9615
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN)
Email: [email:10266bc094]vbirga@ohchr.org[/email:10266bc094] (please also cc: [email:10266bc094]rrico@ohchr.org[/email:10266bc094])
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)
Posted on 2006-03-06
Brutal & Inhuman Police Assault on a 8 months Pregnant Woman & Her Husband
Source: COPE-SL - Mrch 7, 2006
Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse
President
Socialist Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka
Dear President Rajapakse,
Brutal & Inhuman Police Assault on a 8 months Pregnant Woman & Her Husband
We are horrified and shocked with disbelief at the unwarranted brutal and inhuman assault on Mrs.H.L.K.Malkanthi, an eight months pregnant woman andher husband Mr. D.I.Wasantha by Inspector of Police Jayaratne and six other police officers at Rathgama Police Station on 16th February 2006.The couple was arrested without any cause or reason opposite Rathgama Police Station by IP Jayaratne while they were on their way to the doctor.
According to the AHRC Report, Mrs. Malkanthi was beaten all over her body including her abdomen until she fainted and she was admitted to the hospital in a serious condition. The doctor who examined her has expressed that the beatings to her abdomen has endangered her unborn baby and that a normal delivery may not be possible.
The same report says that by this brutal assault, IP Jayarathne was taking revenge on the couple for Mr. Wasantha's refusal to lend his vehicle for IP Jayarathne's private purpose. What a horrendous collective punishment to a family including an unborn baby ! The several similar instances of police brutality reported would make it appear that the rule of law has given way to law of the jungle to prevail in Sri Lanka?
While we appreciate the fact that as the new President, you have inherited from your predecessor, a government machinery replete with corruption,abuse of power, chaotic judiciary with a pervert at its helm, a section of the armed forces and their proxies in para-military groups valiantly trying to drag the country back to war, we have to request you, as the Executive President and Commander-in-Chief, to take prompt and adequate action to mete out justice to the above victims and also to put a complete stop to police brutalities in future.
We also strongly urge you to take immediate steps to appoint new commissioners to the National Police Commission (NPC), in accordance with the 17th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution, without further delay.We firmly believe that a properly functioning NPC will significantly contribute to establishing a strict discipline within the police force and eliminate police torture and misconduct in the country.
Thanking you.
Yours faithfully
A. Jesuthasan
Convenor
Canadian Organisation for Peace and Equality in Sri Lanka
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
7th March 2006.
c.c:
1. Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy
Chairperson
Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka
2. Prof. Manfred Nowak
Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture
Attn: Mr. Safir Syed C/o OHCHR-UNOG
3. Ms. Yakin Erturk
Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women
c/o Ms Vernonica Birga
Room 3-042 c/o OHCHR-UNOG
4. Mr. Basil Fernando
Executive Director,
Asian Human Rights Commission
Who let the lions in?
[ Tamil Guardian ] [ 17:21 GMT, Mar. 9, 2006 ]
The Ceasefire Agreement is at the heart of the contest between two antithetical visions of what Sri Lanka should be. It was clear, even as it was being read out by the Norwegian facilitators, that the joint statement by the Liberation Tigers and the Sri Lankan government following two acrimonious days of talks in Geneva, was going to ignite a crisis in Colombo. Seasoned observers knew that any optimism that a deal struck in Geneva presaged a more peaceful short term was misplaced. And it took just two days for it to erupt. At the heart of the ongoing furore is the status of the February 2002 Ceasefire Agreement (CFA): was it amended or not?
