{"id":43158,"date":"2015-09-19T18:13:57","date_gmt":"2015-09-19T22:13:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=43158"},"modified":"2015-09-19T18:13:57","modified_gmt":"2015-09-19T22:13:57","slug":"sri-lanka-figured-as-one-of-the-countries-with-the-highest-numbers-of-humanitarian-workers-killed-worldiwide-oisl-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=43158","title":{"rendered":"“Sri Lanka Figured as One of the Countries with the Highest numbers of Humanitarian Workers Killed Worldiwide” – OISL Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Office of the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Investigation on Sri Lanka(OISL) report has stated that “As of 2013, Sri Lanka figured as one of the countries with the highest numbers of humanitarian workers killed worldwide”.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The OISL report observes that the most significant case of humanitarian workers killed in Sri Lanka is the killing of 17 ACF workers in Muttur.<\/em><\/p>\n


\nExcerpts from the OISL report pertaining to Humanitarian workers killed in Sri Lanka are as follows –<\/strong>
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Killings of humanitarian workers <\/strong><\/p>\n

\tAs of 2013, Sri Lanka figured as one of the countries with the highest numbers of humanitarian workers killed worldwide. A Sri Lankan NGO documenting killings and disappearances of humanitarian workers between January 2006 and December 2007 reported that such incidents escalated significantly, with concentration in the North and East of the country. The report noted that there was a killing or enforced disappearance of at least one person engaged in humanitarian service nearly every month and documented over 60 specific incidents. Organisations affected include Action Contre la Faim (ACF), the Sri Lanka Red Cross, and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) among others. A global project which records major incidents of violence against aid workers documented 46 separate cases of 51 humanitarian workers being unlawfully killed in Sri Lanka between 2002 and 2011. OISL met with witnesses who testified to having observed first-hand the hardening climate of fear in 2006 and the explicit threats made by members of the security forces against national humanitarian workers and their relatives. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n


\nThe most significant case of humanitarian workers killed in Sri Lanka is the killing of 17 ACF workers in Muttur.<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

On 1 August 2006, 17 local ACF staff deployed from Trincomalee by boat on their regular daily assignment to provide sanitation and water assistance in Muttur. Sixteen of the staff were Tamil while one was Muslim. Five were women. The same day, the LTTE attacked Muttur and temporarily took control of the town. During this time, security forces remained at certain locations, including in bunkers near the police station. As the returning boat was cancelled, the ACF staff were forced to remain in Muttur and were advised by the SLA that it would be safer for them to remain inside their compound, rather than to evacuate. ACF in Trincomalee lost radio contact with their staff in Muttur after 7 am on 4 August 2006. ACF, along with the SLMM, made several attempts to enter Muttur and evacuate the staff between 4 and 6 August, but the SLA repeatedly denied entry. <\/p>\n

On 5 August, the ACF received anonymous phone calls that their staff had been killed. There was never any official notification from the security forces. On 6 August 2006, a Sri Lankan NGO reported finding the bodies of the ACF staff inside their compound. The bodies were lined up and most were face down, executed with bullet wounds to the head. There was no damage to the building to indicate that an exchange of fire or shelling had taken place.<\/p>\n

On 7 August 2006, ACF staff from the Trincomalee office entered the town and retrieved the bodies of their dead colleagues. In an advanced state of decomposition, the smell of the bodies could be detected from afar. The police and SLA had made no effort to secure the crime scene. On 29 August 2006, the SLMM ruled that \u201cthere cannot be any other armed groups than the security forces who could have been behind the act\u201d finding the security forces by 4 August had gained full control over Muttur, which both the LTTE and the Sri Lankan security forces had controlled for periods of time during the first week of August. <\/p>\n

This case was not effectively investigated, illustrating the entrenched impunity enjoyed by perpetrators and the challenges met in furthering accountability at the domestic level in Sri Lanka. Evidence was either not collected, was tampered with or disappeared from the police investigation. The security forces from the outset pre-empted impartial investigations by declaring publicly already on 7 August 2006 that the LTTE was responsible. The Executive interfered with the inquest and shifted the case to a jurisdiction in a Sinhalese area where Tamils had difficulty attending the proceedings. The magistrate initially assigned the case was threatened. The international forensic pathologist appointed to oversee a second autopsy was harassed and retracted his finding that a bullet likely to be from a STF weapon was lodged in the skull of one of the victims. <\/p>\n

The case was investigated by the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka and the Udalagama Commission. Several witnesses who testified to the Commission were threatened and due to the lack of witness protection were forced to leave the country. The Commission, with the assistance of the IIGEP, arranged for testimonies of key witnesses overseas to be obtained by video-link from abroad. However, after a few statements had been taken, the Chair of the Commission intervened and impeded the use of the video-link statements, upon advice from the Attorney-General. Police testifying to the Commission claimed they were unaware of the presence of the ACF and gave inconsistent and incomplete accounts. One observer said \u201can epidemic of willful blindness occurred amongst the Police\u201d.<\/p>\n

The LLRC strongly recommended further investigations and the prosecution of offenders in the ACF case (para. 9.120). Whilst the investigations are still pending, the MOD nevertheless issued a public report in August 2014 which again refuted the involvement of the security forces and accused the ACF of being responsible. There has also been extensive harassment by security forces of the victims\u2019 relatives and of local ACF staff whenever international attention is drawn to such cases. Based on the information OISL has compiled, there are reasonable grounds to believe that members of the security forces committed the extrajudicial executions of the ACF staff. According to the Government, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has recorded statements of 18 military personnel since January 2015 and a further 22 are to be interviewed. CID wishes to interview two key witnesses believed to be living in France and has sought the assistance of the French Government. <\/p>\n


\n Other cases reviewed by OISL include the following:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

On 16 May 2006, a 22-year-old NRC staff member was shot fatally in the head while cycling home after work within 200 meters from an SLA checkpoint near Vavuniya manned by soldiers from the 562 Brigade, who had quarrelled with and threatened the victim prior to his killing because he refused to use an NRC tractor to assist the SLA. The SLMM investigated the incident and ruled that the SLA was most likely responsible for the killing. Despite the fact that the Vavuniya Magistrate initially identified four suspects, the investigation is not believed to have proceeded. <\/p>\n

\tOn 1 April 2007, six Sinhalese male civilians working on a post-tsunami construction project were shot dead at Mailampaaveli in the eastern district of Batticaloa. They were employed in building an orphanage for survivors of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. One Sinhala and two Tamil workers were injured in the attack. The attack allegedly took place 300 meters from an STF camp at Mailampaaveli, eight kilometers north of Batticaloa town. The Government blamed the LTTE for the killings but the LTTE denied its involvement and accused the Karuna Group of being behind the attack. To the knowledge of OISL, this case has not been investigated or prosecuted<\/p>\n

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The Office of the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Investigation on Sri Lanka(OISL) report has stated that “As of 2013, Sri Lanka figured as one of the countries with the highest numbers of humanitarian workers killed worldwide”. The OISL report observes that the most significant case of humanitarian workers killed in Sri Lanka is the …<\/p>\n

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