SRI LANKA: NEW HUMAN RIGHTS MINISTRY PUSHES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 COLOMBO 001149 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/13/2016 TAGS: PHUM PREL PTER MOPS CE SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: NEW HUMAN RIGHTS MINISTRY PUSHES SECURITY FORCE CANDOR ON HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES REF: A. COLOMBO 1107 AND PREVIOUS ¶B. COLOMBO 1047 ¶C. COLOMBO 1041 ¶D. COLOMBO 1030 ¶E. COLOMBO 1022 Classified By: James F. Entwistle, Charge' d'Affairs, a.i. 1.4(b,d) ¶1. (C) Summary. On July 12, the newly-formed Ministry of Human Rights and Disaster Management headed by Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe hosted a briefing at which senior members of the armed forces and police updated the diplomatic corps on human rights training and the status of investigations of several high-profile human rights cases allegedly involving Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) security forces. This candid information session, approved by President Rajapaksa, could represent a laudable and substantial initiative for transparency if the dynamic Samarasinghe can truly improve security force human rights accountability. End summary. "Not Playing Lip Service" -------------- ¶2. (C) Human Rights and Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe (former United National Party (UNP) Minister of Employment and Labor and Chief Opposition Whip and long-time Embassy contact) convened a meeting July 12 between the diplomatic corps and senior representatives from the Police, Army (SLA),Navy (SLN),and Air Force (SLAF). Samarasinghe expressed the GSL's commitment to transparent human rights investigations and accountability, before turning over the floor to several somewhat sheepish security forces representatives. Samarasinghe contended that a strong human rights record represents "a direct link to a conducive environment for a political solution" and that "the GSL is committed - not merely playing lip service - to insuring that human rights violations are investigated and concluded in a clear and transparent manner." Samarasinghe referred to President Rajapaksa's opening statements at the convening of the July 11 All Parties' Conference (APC) (septel) in which the President reiterated his commitment to a political solution to the ethnic conflict, and respect for human rights and good governance as the foundation upon which to proceed. ¶3. (C) Samarasinghe called on representatives of the security forces, including chief police inspector Asoka and Deputy Army Commander Kulatunga, to brief the diplomatic corps on several controversial incidents: the June 17 grenade and shooting attacks on civilians in Pesalai, Mannar; the December 24, 2005 assassination of Tamil National Alliance MP Joseph Pararajasingham in a High Security Zone (HSZ) in Batticaloa; the May 13 massacre of a 13-member family in Kayts, off the Jaffna Penninsula; the murders of several prominent journalists; the January murder of 5 students in a HSZ in Trincomalee; and the April 26 discovery of 5 beheaded Tamils. Samarasinghe asked authorities to speak "truthfully, openly, frankly," adding, "these people (the diplomatic corps) can't be fooled. They have independent sources of information. We've asked them to come, and we don't have anything to hide." Presidential Directives for Detainee Treatment -------------- - ¶4. (C) Samarasinghe lauded the GSL's recent re-issuance of 1997 Presidential Directives by then-President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga on humanitarian treatment of detainees (ref A) "which were never implemented properly," he argued. He noted posters would be displayed in all three languages across the country informing citizens of the security forces' accountability to uphold civilians' rights. Samarasinghe circulated a confidential memo signed by Navy Commander Vice Admiral W.K.J. Karannagoda instructing all naval personnel to act with restraint in the face of the "full-scale propaganda machine" of the Liberation Tigers of COLOMBO 00001149 002 OF 003 Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to frame the SLN and other security forces for "killings of women and children (that were) in all probability committed by the LTTE." ¶5. (C) Senior officers from the SLA, SLN, SLAF and Police then outlined for the diplomatic corps their human rights training initiatives, which the SLA conducted in partnership with the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC). The SLA emerged as the military branch with the greatest capacity to ensure its soldiers adhere to the "Laws of War," humanitarian guidelines each cadet is required to sign. The SLA is now assisting the Navy and Air Force in building capacity for objective human rights cells within each service. (Note: Military spokesperson Brigadier Samarasinghe has told us before confidentially that the SLA is now quite disciplined and restrained, while civilian control of the navy is questionable, ref C.) Case Updates -------------- ¶6. (C) Police chief inspector Asoka briefed the audience on the investigations into several incidents in which security forces have been implicated. He claimed "statements were being recorded" from witnesses to the June 17 incidents in Pesalai in which uniformed men shot and killed four civilian fishermen on the beach and fired and threw hand grenades into a church housing at least a thousand civilians (ref D). Police recorded the statements of 32 witnesses, including one Dr. Emmanuel Pereris of the Pesalai Rural Hospital, who claimed that "four camouflaged men entered the hospital with weapons" on the day of the incident. New Army third-in-command General Kulatunaga (no relation to his assassinated predecessor, ref B) added that armed personnel had indeed gone into the church and "retaliated using excessive force." ¶7. (C) The police chief also touched on the murder of 13 civilians in SLN-controlled Kayts on May 13, arguing evidence points not to the SLN but to a group of pro-LTTE Tamil youths calling themselves the Tamil Makkal Padai (ref C). (Note: Kayts island, off the Jaffna peninsula, has historically had a strong anti-LTTE Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) presence.) Minister Samarasinghe added there is still "very little progress" in the Kayts investigation because people fear coming forward to give evidence, a situation he said he hopes to improve by establishing a witness protection program. ¶8. (C) Asoka claimed only one eye-witness had come forward in the assassination of pro-LTTE Tamil National Alliance MP Joseph Pararajasingham during a 2005 Christmas Eve mass at a church within a high security zone (HSZ) in Batticaloa, but that evidence pointed to "the presence of two soldiers whose uniforms were left nearby the church premises." He said the police expected to arrest the suspects within the week. The police chief contended investigators were "probing" into the January murder of 5 students in a HSZ in Trincomalee and that "arrests will be made in 10-12 days" for the April 2005 murder of pro-LTTE journalist D. Shivaram, whose body was also discovered in a HSZ north of Colombo. Investigators used DNA samples to identify 3 of 5 headless Tamil victims discovered April 26, he said. Responsible Governments Investigate Embarrassments -------------- -------------- ¶9. (C) The Charge commended the Ministry's first human rights briefing as a correct and positive initiative to fight against the worldwide tendency for governments to overlook incidents that embarrass them, to which the Indian High Commissioner agreed. The British High Commissioner expressed hope that the remaining security forces would follow the example of the SLA, whose human rights training of its forces had been convincingly audited by the ICRC. The French Ambassador noted the importance of informing all Sri Lankans, COLOMBO 00001149 003 OF 003 rather than just the diplomatic corps, that the GSL is working to improve its human rights accountability record. Comment -------------- ¶10. (C) Comment. Mahinda Samarasinghe (with whom we worked well after the tsunami when he led a Parliamentary disaster management team that visited Hawaii and California and subsequently provided a very good report) spoke with remarkable candor about investigations into highly controversial incidents in which evidence, and certain public opinion, has pointed to the security forces. While representatives from the security forces seemed less pleased to talk to us, the fact that they did represents a substantial step toward transparency. With the future of the Human Rights Commission in limbo following the April 2006 expiration of the Constitutional Council to appoint independent commissions, the Ministry of Human Rights and Disaster Management is the only game in town right now on these issues. We believe that Samarasinghe has the credibility and the dynamism to institutionalize accountability within the security forces, but it remains to be seen whether he will have the full support - rather than simply the lip service - of the military commanders, police, and perhaps more crucially, the common soldiers on the ground. For now, he seems to have political cover from the President. End comment. ENTWISTLE