42. Cases of extrajudicial executions occur in the context of internal armed conflict in the country, mainly the confrontation between the LTTE and government forces in the north and north-east of the country.

43. Areas of armed conflict continue to be the scene of large-scale human rights violations and abuses by members of the security forces, paramilitary groups (home guards), often said to cooperate with them, and the armed insurgent groups (LTTE). The Special Rapporteur was informed that, during mid-November 1997, the military resumed the third and final phase of the operation "Jaya Sikurui" (Sure of Victory), intending to regain control of the main road leading to the Jaffna peninsula. Over 1,500 fighters from both sides have died in the confrontation since the inception of the military operation in May, and up to 5,000 have sustained injuries.

44. In these areas, the armed forces allegedly continue to apply a counterinsurgency strategy whereby everybody who is known or suspected to be linked with the LTTE is regarded as an internal enemy. According to the information received, in the areas where the insurgents are active and armed confrontations take place, the security forces view virtually all civilians as collaborators with the subversion, an allegation which was denied by the members of the armed forces met by the Special Rapporteur.

45. The category of "LTTE terrorist" is applied to everyone who is regarded as supporting the LTTE in one way or another, even if the insurgents use force to obtain, for example, food or money from civilians. Consequently, peasants become the main victims of human rights violations in areas where there is armed conflict. Similarly, a large number of those who dared to denounce human rights abuses committed by the LTTE have been killed by LTTE members or forced to leave their areas of residence. As a result, human rights activists and witnesses to human rights violations fear for their lives and in many cases prefer to remain silent.

46. Military operations leading to the death of civilians include indiscriminate bombing of civilian settlements and armed incursions into villages during which the victims are said to be killed on the spot or abducted to extract information. Often, the civilians killed during such operations are later presented to the public as terrorists who died in combat with guns and grenades placed in their hands. Their corpses are not given back to the families.

47. From January to August 1997, there are reports that an estimated 37 civilians were killed and 30 others wounded as a result of shelling in civilian areas. The following incidents are said to have taken place:

(a) At Kalmadu camp on 24 April 1997, at about 3:00 p.m., the LTTE and the military engaged in a shootout. Civilians from the camp fled towards the jungle to avoid the crossfire. According to reports, soldiers from other camps in the area fired in the direction of the shooting. Civilians from the camp were caught in the shellfire which continued until about 6 p.m. Five people from the camp, including a four-year-old girl, were reportedly killed and 12 others were injured, including eight children;

(b) In Kallady, Batticaloa, on 24 August 1997, four-year-old Maris Sulosanathevi was killed following shelling by the LTTE at Kallady Veloor colony, which is about 3 km from Batticaloa town and about 3-4 km from Kallady army camp. Thirteen other people were also reported to be seriously injured in the attack.

48. Torture is reportedly used by the armed forces with two principal aims: to obtain information on insurgent groups and to intimidate the population. Torture, inflicted at the place of detention, in remote places in rural areas or on military and police premises, reportedly precedes the taking of a decision as to whether the detainee is released or put at the disposal of the competent judicial authority. It seems to be a common practice that members of the armed forces and security forces arrest persons without a warrant, subject them to interrogation and take them to the judge days later, after forcing them to sign a statement of good treatment. All these circumstances, together with the fact that the detainees are kept incommunicado, increase the risk of torture.

49. The Special Rapporteur is concerned that during armed confrontation or following battles between the military and the insurgents, no prisoners are taken. He was told that the Tamil insurgents usually use poisoned pills and prefer to commit suicide rather than be captured by the armed forces. Taking prisoners is so exceptional that when it happens, it becomes a major news event recounted by the national media.

50. The reports received by the Special Rapporteur clearly indicate that neither the security forces nor the armed insurgent groups show respect for the right to life or physical integrity in areas of armed conflict. On the contrary, the Special Rapporteur received numerous reports about human rights violations by various military battalions and other units of the security forces based in the zones of armed conflict.

B. Violations of the right to life committed by the LTTE

51. In February 1988, the LTTE announced that it will abide by the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, but consistent reports received by the Special Rapporteur indicate that they fail to do so.

52. The Special Rapporteur received numerous reports concerning abuses committed against the civilian population by members of the LTTE. Peasants are said to be forced to provide the guerrillas with food and money. If they refuse, they are killed. They may also be forced to leave the area. It has also been reported that members of the security forces captured in combat are very often executed. Moreover, former combatants who have sought reinsertion into civilian life have reportedly been targeted by their former comrades in arms. The following incidents were reported:

(a) On 1 June 1997, a Sinhala youth married to a Tamil woman was killed by the LTTE in Shanthiveli in Batticaloa;

(b) On 9 June, R.K. Gunaratna Banda, a farmer in Amparai, was shot dead by the LTTE, and on 12 June, S. Krishnapillai was also shot dead by members of the LTTE "pistol gang" in Valaichchenai. On 19 June, at Grama Sevaka in Amparai district, S.R.M.D. Banda was also shot dead by LTTE members.

53. In addition, the LTTE continues to use terror throughout the country. Several reports and incidents relate that one of the tactics of the LTTE is to operate through suicide attacks, including using children and women. For example, in Colombo itself, on 15 October 1997, a bomb exploded in the same hotel where the Special Rapporteur had stayed one month earlier. The bombing of the hotel and the subsequent shootings resulted in the death of more than 18 civilians with over 100 people wounded.

54. In certain areas, the LTTE is said to have replaced the State administration and to exercise complete control. This is viewed as a complicating factor in peace negotiations: the question is no longer that of convincing the LTTE just to hand in their arms and halt the fighting, but also to give up power and control over these areas and lucrative sources of income.

C. Violations of the right to life committed by home guards

55. Several paramilitary groups, referred to as home guards, and militia of political parties continue to operate in the north and north-east. These home guards, or "friends of the army", are Sinhalese and Muslim civilians recruited and armed by the police and given short training in the use of weapons in order to take care of their own communities, to defend themselves against extortion by the insurgents and to protect their economic and social positions. They function mostly under the authority of the local police, although in some areas they work alongside the army. Their functions are supposed to be purely defensive, but the Special Rapporteur was told that they often act as auxiliary forces, doing the "dirty jobs".

56. According to the information received, there have never been serious attempts on the part of the security forces to restrain the activities of such groups or to dismantle and disarm them. On the contrary, the military began to cooperate with self-defence groups, considering them useful allies in the common interest of fighting the LTTE. In some regions, armed groups were said to have been trained in military establishments and are operating under the direct command of the armed forces. The Special Rapporteur was told by members of the High Military Command, however, that their aim was to control these groups.

57. This cooperation between Muslims and Sinhalese has provoked retaliatory action by Tamil insurgents against Muslim villagers and home guards. The following incidents were reported:

(a) On 27 September 1996, at Marathamunai, Batticaloa district, a number of Muslim home guards were reportedly abducted by armed men. Their bodies were found in the cemetery the next day. Muslims in the area accused the LTTE of the murders and there were also anti-Tamil incidents which resulted in more than 30 people killed;

(b) On 9 February 1997, in Valaichchenai, a Muslim home guard attached to the Valaichchenai police station was allegedly killed by the LTTE in Ottamavadi, near Valaichchenai. This resulted in a clash between Tamils and Muslims in the town. Three Tamils were reported killed and several injured. Three Muslims were later abducted by the LTTE, as a reprisal, and killed.

D. Violations of the right to life committed in the context of political violence

58. Another issue which was brought to the attention of the Special Rapporteur by many persons and organizations with whom he met while on mission is the issue of violence in the political context. The Special Rapporteur learned that most, if not all of the political party leaders have their own private armed security guards. The 225 members of Parliament are authorized to have up to eight armed security guards, and the 300 provincial counsellors are also authorized by the Ministry of Defence to have up to four armed security guards each. This has resulted in a competition between the regular police and the privately armed guards, the consequence of which is a situation of political violence, which particularly increases during election time.

59. A report, published on 25 April 1997 by the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV), reproduced an account of election-related violence during the local government election campaign. In the period from 5 February to 20 March 1997, 2,237 incidents of violence were reported in 30 police divisions covering all areas where local government elections had been scheduled for 21 March 1997. Of these incidents, the greatest number were allegations of threats of violence, followed by assault, mischief, damage to property and intimidation. Five reports of murder and two of attempted murder were received by the Centre, as well as 40 complaints of injury, 53 of robbery, 50 of arson and 67 unclassified complaints. Although the police were present when the incidents occurred, very few of the cases have been investigated by the authorities and none of these cases were brought before the court.

60. Impunity with regard to cases of political violence seems to be prevailing throughout Sri Lanka. The following is a sample of the incidents reported during the run-up to the elections (information provided by CMEV):

(a) On 25 February, at Pamunugama, internal rivalry within the PA resulted in the death from shock of a woman and damage to five houses. The complaint was lodged by a PA supporter against seven other PA supporters, and allegedly the initial incident which sparked off the tragedy, related to the putting up of a poster. No arrests had been made by the police despite the alleged assailant being identified;

(b) On 27 February 1997, PA member of Parliament D.M. Dassanayake is alleged to have forcibly entered the Madawakkulama mosque in Puttalam district, accompanied by a gang of men armed with T-56 rifles, and destroyed all the green lights in the mosque because green was the UNP colour. This gang is alleged to have abused the devotees present and threatened the UNP Muslim candidate with death if he did not withdraw from the election. On the same day, at around 4.30 p.m., Mr. Dassanayake, accompanied by approximately 50 armed supporters, is alleged to have stormed Karaitive (sic) village, brutally assaulted Mr. David, the brother of UNP candidate Mr. Marcus Fernando, and threatened him with death. On 1 March, at 5.30 p.m., Mr. Dassanayake and his supporters allegedly assaulted Mr. W.M. Wimalaratne Banda (a former UNP official) and his aides at Madyama, Attavilluwa. In all 10 people were injured, three of them seriously. It is further alleged that Mr. Dassanayake's party was escorted to and from the scene of the alleged crime by a police group led by the Inspector of Police of Puttalam.