Over 160 people in Jaffna alone have ‘disappeared’ after being taken into custody by Sri Lankan security forces.
Apart from the figures recorded by the Jaffna office of the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission (SLHRC), there are many more unreported cases, civil society sources say.
The numbers have steadily increased after the stepping up of search operations by the Sri Lanka Army, HRC officials added.
Some victims were taken away in unmarked vans by uniformed Sri Lankan soldiers wearing black masks, relatives have told the HRC.
Disappearances of people taken into custody by the military have resumed this year. During the conflict time before the 2002 ceasefire, hundreds of people disappeared in Jaffna.
Amnesty International, investigating 600 odd disappearances in 1996 concluded the victims were “tortured to death or deliberately killed.”
On June 18 the Jaffna Commander of SLA, Major General Chandrasiri, had given the an undertaking that a special high ranking committee made up of all service arms of the militarywould work with the Rights Group to look at reports of human rights violations by SL soldiers.
He had also told the new head of the SLHRC for the Jaffna district, Mr. P. Surendiran, that SLA soldiers will not be permitted to wear black masks during their operations.
Many of the disappearances reported to the Jaffna SLHRC are those of persons travelling towards Jaffna Town on the Jaffna Point Pedro Road who have to pass SLA army checkpoints, SLHRC officials pointed out.
There have also been increasing number of persons going missing in the Kopay islets area. They have increased in the wake of the discovery of the bodies of people suspected to have been arrested and murdered by Sri Lankan troops.
The Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission (SLHRC) has approximately 10,000 complaints in the Commission’s head office awaiting investigations, said Mr. P Ramanathan the head of the Commission in a press statement released in Colombo late June.
The statement accused some government authorities, administrative heads and judicial establishments for refusing to implement some key recommendations of the Commission to improve human rights.
The Commission expressed concerns over delays encountered in both the commencement and completion of most inquiries, and intends to find ways and means of resolving cases more swiftly.
Apart from the figures recorded by the Jaffna office of the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission (SLHRC), there are many more unreported cases, civil society sources say.
The numbers have steadily increased after the stepping up of search operations by the Sri Lanka Army, HRC officials added.
Some victims were taken away in unmarked vans by uniformed Sri Lankan soldiers wearing black masks, relatives have told the HRC.
Disappearances of people taken into custody by the military have resumed this year. During the conflict time before the 2002 ceasefire, hundreds of people disappeared in Jaffna.
Amnesty International, investigating 600 odd disappearances in 1996 concluded the victims were “tortured to death or deliberately killed.”
On June 18 the Jaffna Commander of SLA, Major General Chandrasiri, had given the an undertaking that a special high ranking committee made up of all service arms of the militarywould work with the Rights Group to look at reports of human rights violations by SL soldiers.
He had also told the new head of the SLHRC for the Jaffna district, Mr. P. Surendiran, that SLA soldiers will not be permitted to wear black masks during their operations.
Many of the disappearances reported to the Jaffna SLHRC are those of persons travelling towards Jaffna Town on the Jaffna Point Pedro Road who have to pass SLA army checkpoints, SLHRC officials pointed out.
There have also been increasing number of persons going missing in the Kopay islets area. They have increased in the wake of the discovery of the bodies of people suspected to have been arrested and murdered by Sri Lankan troops.
The Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission (SLHRC) has approximately 10,000 complaints in the Commission’s head office awaiting investigations, said Mr. P Ramanathan the head of the Commission in a press statement released in Colombo late June.
The statement accused some government authorities, administrative heads and judicial establishments for refusing to implement some key recommendations of the Commission to improve human rights.
The Commission expressed concerns over delays encountered in both the commencement and completion of most inquiries, and intends to find ways and means of resolving cases more swiftly.
