As many as 84% of the people in the North-East have had a family member detained, said the UK based Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice in a letter to the British Home Office, warning that the risk of persecution for Tamil returnees to Sri Lanka still remains.
Highlighting continued risks of Tamils returning to Sri Lanka under the new regime in Sri Lanka due to targeted rights violations of Tamils in the North-East, the organisation said,
“We do not feel that the risk of persecution of Tamil returnees has in any way diminished. We therefore urge you not to prematurely tighten your requirements for asylum applications from Sri Lanka.”
Arguing that a new regime, could make conditions even more dangerous for Tamils returned to Sri Lanka, the letter stated,
“Members of paramilitary groups and their security forces who have been complicit in war crimes and other serious human rights violations may seek to permanently silence those who could incriminate them should the government cease its patronage.”
Noting the systemic climate of torture and arbitrary detention in Sri Lanka, the organisation said,
“Torture is systemic in Sri Lanka, as are arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances. The Prevention of Terror Act gives the President of Sri Lanka the power to detain people without trial, with no need to provide evidence or even state grounds for detention. AS many as 84% of people in the North have had a family member detained, in 26% of cases detention lasted over 21 months.”
Citing UN reports on torture, the letter added,
“Torture is so severe and widespread that the UN’s Committee Against Torture stated in its latest report that it remains seriously concerned about the continued and consistent allegations of widespread use of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.”
Noting a climate of fear and intimidation by the Sri Lankan military, “who make up a quarter of the population in some areas of the North,” the letter noted that these conditions facilitated the “systemic and widespread” occurrence of sexual assault and rape in the North-East.
The letter ended by referring to a report “Crimes Against Humanity in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province” that argued the nature of systematic human rights violations on the Tamil population in the North-East.
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