Death Threats in Trinco
Urgent Action Appeal [from Amnesty International]
03 May 2006
UA 114/06 Fear for safety
SRI LANKA
Dr. Kasippillai Manoharan, medical doctor
His family
Dr. Manoharan, whose son was killed in January, allegedly by
the security forces, has received death threats, believed to
be from the security forces. He and his family, who live in
Trincomalee town in the east of the country, are now in fear
for their lives. There are grave concerns for their safety.
Dr. Manoharan's son, 20-year-old Ragihar Manoharan, was
among five Tamil students killed by the Sri Lankan security
forces in Trincomalee on 2 January. A group of students from
Sri Koneswara Hindu College and St. Joseph's College in Trincomalee had gathered for a chat at about 7pm near the
seafront, when a grenade was thrown at them from a passing
auto rickshaw. The students ran, but at least three of them
were injured in the explosion. A short while later a group
of 10 to 15 officers in uniform believed to be police from
the elite Special Task Force (STF) arrived. They put the
injured students into their jeep and beat them with rifle
butts, and then pushed them out onto the road. According to
a witness the security forces personnel then shot five
students dead, including Ragihar Manoharan. Although the
security forces initially claimed the five had been killed
when the grenade (which they alleged the students had been
carrying) exploded, a post mortem later revealed that the
five students had died from gunshot wounds. Three of them
had been shot in the head.
An inquest was held at the Trincomalee Magistrates' Court on
10 January, at which Dr. Manoharan gave evidence. That
night, the family heard shouting outside and their house was
pelted with stones. Dr. Manoharan also received a number of anonymous phone calls that night, and on several subsequent
nights, from a man who, speaking Sinhalese (the language of
the majority of the population) interspersed with a few
words of Tamil (Dr. Manoharan and his family are Tamil),
told him that he and his family would be killed, because he
had given evidence at the inquest.
Dr. Manoharan was one of several witnesses who gave evidence
to the Magistrates' Court the following week. A Sinhalese
police officer who attended court reportedly called the
witnesses "kottiyas" (tigers) meaning members of the armed
opposition group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
A few days after the court hearings a man came to the family
home on a motorbike, wearing a helmet, so that his face
could not be seen, and asked to see Dr. Manoharan. When Dr.
Manoharan's wife - who is also a doctor - offered to give
medical help, the motorbike rider insisted on seeing Dr.
Manoharan and when he realized this was not possible, he
went away.
Since the family believes that the death threats and
harassment have been initiated by the security forces who
suspect them of having links with the LTTE, they are living
in fear for their lives. Dr. Manoharan has temporarily
suspended his medical practice and his children are no
longer attending school.
Dr. Manoharan has notified the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission
(sent by Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden to
monitor the ceasefire between the government and the LTTE),
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the UN
High Commission for Refugees and the National Human Rights
Commission of the threats to kill him and his family.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
In February 2002 the government and the LTTE entered into a
Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) and held a series of peace
negotiations, with the Norwegian government acting as
facilitator. These broke down in April 2003 when the LTTE
pulled out of the talks. Four years later, the government
and the LTTE met in Geneva on 22 and 23 February to discuss
the implementation of the CFA. Both sides agreed to uphold
the commitments made in the CFA, and to meet again in April.
However, since then the LTTE has put off holding further
talks indefinitely citing logistical and security
considerations.
Bombings and other violence over the last month have killed
at least 200 people. On 25 April a suicide bombing in
Colombo critically wounded Army Commander Lt. Gen. Sarath
Fonseka and killed 10 other people. In retaliation the army
launched air strikes on LTTE positions in Trincomalee
District, in which at least 12 people were reported to have
been killed. The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission declared that
the strikes were a breach of the CFA.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly
as possible:
- expressing grave concern at reports that Dr. Manoharan and
his family have received death threats;
- expressing concern that Dr. Manoharan may have been
targeted because he is an important witness in the inquest
into the 2 January killing of five students, including his
son, in Trincomalee;
- reminding the authorities to their obligation to protect
witnesses, such as Dr. Manoharan, in order to uphold the
integrity of official legal proceeding in which questions of
impunity are at stake;
- urging the authorities to take immediate action to end the
death threats and harassment of Dr. Manoharan and his
family, and guarantee their safety;
APPEALS TO:
President Mahinda Rajapakse
Presidential Secretariat
Colombo 1, Sri Lanka
Fax: 011 94 11 2333703 / 011 94 11 2446657
Salutation: Dear President Rajapakse
Mr Palitha Kohana
Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process
Level 10, West Tower
World Trade Centre
Bank of Ceylon Mawatha
Colombo 1, Sri Lanka
Fax: 011 94 11 5554473
Salutation: Dear Mr Kohana
Mr Gotabhaya Rajapakse
Secretary, Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence
15/5 Baladaksha Mawatha
Colombo 3, Sri Lanka
Fax: 011 94 11 2430590
Salutation: Dear Defence Secretary
COPIES TO:
Ambassador Bernard A.B. Goonetilleke
Embassy of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
2148 Wyoming Ave. NW
Washington DC 20008
Fax: 1 202 232 7181
Email: slembassy@slembassyusa.org
Please send appeals immediately. Check with the AIUSA Urgent
Action office if sending appeals after 14 June 2006.
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Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement
that promotes and defends human rights.
This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including
contact information and stop action date (if applicable).
Thank you for your help with this appeal.
Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
PO Box 1270
Nederland CO 80466-1270
Email: uan@aiusa.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 303 258 1170
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