'Silencing the Disappeared' - Sri Lankan police granted court order to halt demonstrations by Families of the Disappeared

by admin
Aug 30, 2024

Sri Lankan police in Trincomalee have been granted a court order to halt demonstrations by Tamil families of the disappeared on International Day of the Disappeared today, in another blow to Tamil victim-survivors.

According to Ambika Satkunathan, former Human Rights Commissioner of Sri Lanka, the Trincomalee police claimed that the demonstrations would "create conflict between ethnicities, disturb the peace and is a threat to security." 

The original and signed court order in Tamil does not list persons who are banned from participating in the procession. However, the unsigned Sinhala translated version includes a list of persons banned from the demonstrations, stated Satkunathan on X. 

Sri Lanka is home to the world's second-highest number of enforced disappearances, according to UN figures.

The occupying police force in Jaffna also sought a similar court order attempting to halt demonstrations by the Family of the Disappeared tomorrow but failed. 

In their court order, police cited section 69 of the Presidential Elections Act. This act "prohibits processions during the period commencing on the day of nomination to 1 week after the poll result is declared." The Jaffna police claimed that the "procession would also disturb the peace and due to visit of Sajith Premadasa and Nallur festival they didn't have officers to deploy." However, after the court heard from the Families of the Disappeared, they ruled the demonstrations were "for a social purpose," stated Satkunathan. 

Last week, in a press conference, the North-East Families of the Disappeared called on individuals to join them on 30 August, stating, "We are reiterating that justice should be delivered to the perpetrators of genocide through an international investigation. We remind the Sri Lankan government that our struggle for liberation and justice and our search for our children will never be suppressed by the Sri Lankan government and that our struggle will continue until justice is achieved." 

According to the UN report, in 1996, 11,513 people were reported as disappeared. According to the report of the Asian Human Rights Commission in 1996, 16,742 persons were missing. However, Sri Lankan human rights activists believe this number might be double.

The Families of the Disappeared have faced continuous harassment and have been subject to routine harassment and intimidation by Sri Lanka's security forces. Despite the harassment, they have been brazen in their campaign for justice. Since 2017, Tamil families have been protesting across the North-East to find the truth about their loved ones. 

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