Speaking at a press conference on their latest report which details sexual violence against 75 Tamil detainees, Human Rights Watch's UK director David Mepham stressed that the abuses documented were a "small sample of a much bigger problem" of the use of "rape and sexual violence as a form of torture".
Whilst acknowledging HRW did not how far up the chain of command such a policy went, Mepham said that "in the vast majority of cases the Sri Lankan security forces were involved in the abuses that took place. Some of the abuses took place in the headquarters of these institutions."
"The Sri Lankan security forces were not just involved in the rape, but they were supporting it and facilitating it."
Describing the abuse as a "coercive", "form of intimidation" that was used as a "deliberate policy", Mepham said that, "it is our view that this is not random," but "much more about installing fear and cowering this minority [Tamil] population."
"This isn't just a problem of the past" but an "on-going problem."
"These cases are continuing," added Mepham.
Responding to a question by London based Tamil newspaper, Oru Paper on the fate of those who remained in detention compared to those in the report, who had managed to flee, Mepham strongly agreed that the fate of those still in detention was likely to be much worse, and urged the Sri Lankan government to allow independent access to INGOs and rights organisations.
Asked by the Tamil Guardian for HRW's view on the UK FCO Minister Alistair Burt's recent comments on Sri Lanka in light of clear evidence of on-going, systematic abuse of Tamils, Mepham said it was "very concerning", especially after a freedom of information request revealed Home Office records that documented the abuse of returned deportees by Sri Lankan security forces
"It's a real stain on the British government," said Mepham.
