Amidst tight security, mystery terror goes on

More than 219 people have been killed, abducted or are feared killed by unknown gunmen across Sri Lanka since January this year, as a new Presidential Commission of Inquiry on Disappearances sifts through reams of complaints amidst a chilling reminder of a terror era that swept the nation in the late 1980s.

The biggest concern – apart from in war-torn Jaffna -- is the rising number of killings and disappearances in Colombo, a city where security is at its tightest and civilians are subjected to frequent searches, traffic snarls and sudden closure of roads for “security reasons”.

Despite this, according to the Presidential Commission, 40 complaints have been received from Colombo district alone, with many from the city, detailing how people have been taken away in broad daylight – shot and killed or are feared dead.

The relatives of the missing, like Ganegodage Swarnalatha, wife of Jayawardenage Jeyarajah, 46, and sons wait in hope, hoping against hope that he will be returned to them safely. Jeyarajah was “walked away” by two men from near the Soysapura Housing Scheme in Moratuwa around noon on October 19, leaving his motorcycle behind.

“He called me to say he would get late to come home, but when I called him back on his mobile, it was not answered,” laments Swarnalatha.

A Sunday Times INSIGHT on Page 4 & 5 looks at this human crisis which has led to strong protests and calls for immediate police action.

The Civil Monitoring Committee set up recently to support the families of victims met Police Chief Victor Perera on October 31 and lodged a strong protest against these killings and disappearances, said its Chairman Sirithunga Jayasooriya.

“We don’t have confidence in the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on Disappearances. This commission is just a face-saving exercise for the government,” said Mr. Jayasooriya charging that certain organizations were abducting people and collecting ransoms to fill their coffers while other extremist groups are carrying out a campaign of ethnic cleansing in Colombo to rid the area of Tamils.

Several incidents in Colombo district have taken place in the city itself, ironically even in areas dubbed “high security zones”, he said, adding: “The first indications of this trend came with the five headless bodies being found in Avissawella.”

The Civil Monitoring Committee’s call for immediate action is being echoed by the people who urge that the authorities need to address these issues of human rights not tomorrow, not next week, not next month or not when the report of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry comes out, but right this minute.

Many attempts on the part of The Sunday Times to get an official comment from the police failed, although a senior officer when asked who is carrying out these heinous crimes countermanded with, “Who knows?”

“It may be the Karuna faction, the LTTE, para-military groups, army deserters or the underworld,” he said requesting anonymity.