{"id":65418,"date":"2017-04-21T16:17:11","date_gmt":"2017-04-21T23:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=65418"},"modified":"2017-04-21T16:17:11","modified_gmt":"2017-04-21T23:17:11","slug":"request-to-probe-into-the-human-rights-violations-and-war-crimes-committed-by-the-indian-peace-keeping-force-in-sri-lanka-in-1987-1990","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2017\/04\/21\/request-to-probe-into-the-human-rights-violations-and-war-crimes-committed-by-the-indian-peace-keeping-force-in-sri-lanka-in-1987-1990\/","title":{"rendered":"REQUEST TO PROBE INTO THE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AND WAR CRIMES COMMITTED BY THE INDIAN PEACE KEEPING FORCE IN SRI LANKA IN 1987-1990."},"content":{"rendered":"

Ranjith Soysa Media Spokesperson Global Sri Lankan Forum<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

Mr Salil Shetty,
\nSecretary General-Amnesty International<\/p>\n

Dear Mr. Salil Shetty,<\/p>\n

REQUEST TO PROBE INTO THE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AND WAR CRIMES COMMITTED BY THE INDIAN PEACE KEEPING FORCE IN SRI LANKA IN 1987-1990.<\/u><\/p>\n

At an interview with the Mr Shamindra Ferdinando the \u00a0 Deputy Editor of the \u2018Island\u2019 news paper of Sri Lanka on 4 April 2017 you have said\u00a0 that if credible evidence is available, AI will probe into the HR violations committed by the IPKF in Sri Lanka between 1987- 1990.<\/p>\n

We give below a few instances of HR violations which can be considered as war crimes if examined technically for you to probe further and a statement to that effect will be welcome by the public whose demand for such a probe has failed to attract the due attention of reputed organizations such as the AI even though the subject has been discussed repeatedly.<\/p>\n

(1) By Old Jaffna Man- details with names etc<\/p>\n

The Indian Army came with the designation Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) but when they left it was felt\u00a0that they were a Indian People Killing Force. There were no people to send
\nthem off in Trincomalee and no one to receive them when they landed in
\nMadras.<\/p>\n

Civilians Massacred by IPKF<\/p>\n

Jaffna Hospital:- Perhaps the worst atrocity committed by the IPKF was the\u00a0massacre of 68 innocent civilians inside the Jaffna Teaching Hospital in\u00a0Oct. 1987\u2026.The IPKF coming in pursuit entered the Jaffna hospital, and shot people\u00a0indiscriminately. A niece was a doctor serving there at that time and
\nescaped by crawling on all fours to escape detection by the IPKF soldiers.\u00a0This information was provided by her. She has migrated to New Zealand with\u00a0her family and is safe and doing well there.<\/p>\n

The names of the people massacred are:- Dr. A. Sivapathasuntheram, Dr. M. K.\u00a0Ganesharatnam, Dr. Parimelalahar, Mrs. Vadivelu, Matron, Mrs. Leelawathie,\u00a0Nurse, Mrs. Sivapakiam, Nurse, Mrs. Ramanathan, Nurse, Mr. Shanmugalingam,\u00a0Ambulance Driver, Mr. Kanagalingam, Telephone Operator, Mr. Krishnarajah,\u00a0Works Supervisor, Mr. Selvarajah, Works Supervisor, Eleven (11) Minor\u00a0employees and forty six (46) patients. One of the doctors killed was a\u00a0Consultant Paediatrician and he was coming down the stairs wearing his cloak\u00a0and with his stethoscope. When he saw the Indian soldier, he shouted\u00a0Doctor, but Was shot down.<\/p>\n

Duraiswamy brothers :- On the way to the hospital, the soldiers passed the\u00a0ancestral home of late Sir Waithilingarn Duraisamy, Speaker in the State\u00a0Council. Two of his sons, retired and past 70 years, were residing in their\u00a0ancestral home next to the Jaffna Clock Tower. One was R. Duraiswamy (SLAS)\u00a0Retd. Secretary. Ministry of Local Government and M. Duraiwswamy Retd. Staff\u00a0Officer Bank of Ceylon. Both were shot and killed.<\/p>\n

Sivasubramaniam Family:- Mr. S. Sivasubramaniam, retired Director of\u00a0Irrigation (now designated Director General), his wife, Mrs.\u00a0Sivasubramaniam, retired teacher and their only son, a brilliant boy who had\u00a0studied at St. John’s College, scored 4A’s in the GCE (AL) and was in the\u00a0second year of Medical College.Mr. Sivasubramaniam was a personal friend, a quiet soft spoken gentleman,\u00a0brilliant in his professional field. His entire family was erased from the\u00a0face of the earth.<\/p>\n

Chief Justice Sharvananda’s sister and her family :– Chief Justice S.\u00a0Sharvananda’s sister, her husband, son and two domestic helpers were shot\u00a0dead. Justice Sharvananda, far from attending his sister’s funeral, did not\u00a0even know for over one week that his sister and family had perished. There
\nwas blanket censorship over what was being done to the Tamils in Jaffna.Other Civilians Killed in Jaffna:- Prof. P. Chandrasekeram, University of\u00a0Jaffna, Dr. R. W. Crossette Thambiah (must have been 80 at the time), Dr.\u00a0Selvaratnam Former DMO Maskeliya, Dr. S. Pararajasingham JMO, L. F. M.\u00a0Samuel Rtd. Teacher (St. Thomas College, Mt. Lavinia & Royal College,\u00a0Colombo – older Thomians and Royalists might remember him), K. J. Sambanthar\u00a0Retd. DLO & Asst. Land Commissioner, Jaffna, Mrs. S. Sivanandaraja (mother),\u00a0Mohanraj (son) Technical Officer, Irrigation Dept., Mrs. Krishnam, Mrs. M.\u00a0Sebastiampillai, Mrs. N. R. Thuriappa, Mrs. V. Ruthiralingam, C. S. Aaron.<\/p>\n

Urumpirai:- A. Subramanium Attorney at Law, Mr. & Mrs. Pancharatnam, Rtd.\u00a0Teachers, K. Navaratnam Rtd. Divisional Supdt. of Post Offices, S.\u00a0Nadarajah, Formerly SLBC, Tamil Service, P. Arooran , M. Nadaraja, S.\u00a0Rasanayagam Rtd. Credit Controller CCC Ltd.<\/p>\n

Anaikoddai:- Mrs. M. Weerasegaram Pillai, (Mother), Pillai Yasotha\u00a0Weerasegararn (Daughter), Mrs. S. Thanapalasingham (Mother) Miss N.\u00a0Thanapalasingham. (Daughter) S. Kulasegerampillai, Retd. Station Master,\u00a0Mrs. M. Arumugam Mrs. R. Gnanamuttu, A. Candappu Rtd. State Officer, S.\u00a0Selvaranee.<\/p>\n

Pirampadi, Kokuvil etc.:- A large number of civilians were killed in\u00a0Pirampadi and Kokuvil and<\/p>\n

buried in mass graves. The whole matter requires a\u00a0book to do full justice. Among those who managed to escape was late Justice\u00a0K. Palakidner, who was then High Court judge Jaffna, his wife and two\u00a0daughters.<\/p>\n

My village :- From Oct. 10, 1987, we lost all contact with our relatives who\u00a0lived in Jaffna, among them my wife’s 71 year old mother, her sisters and\u00a0their children, my close friends from my boyhood days in Jaffna. For twenty\u00a0one (21) days, there was a continuous curfew imposed by the IPKF with half\u00a0an hour\u2019s notice. The local and foreign media were completely cut off from\u00a0the scene of operations and terrible things – yes, I use words carefully,\u00a0TERRIBLE THINGS, were done to the Tamils in Jaffna.<\/p>\n

Eighty-year-old Mrs. Thambimuttu was a refugee inside the temple. But an old\u00a0lady cannot easily adjust to conditions inside a tightly packed temple – and\u00a0Hindu temples do not have toilet facilities, as devotees are expected to\u00a0come in a ‘clean’ state. So she went, before dawn, to her home within 250
\nmetres of the temple for her morning ablutions. She was walking back feebly,\u00a0with the aid of a walking stick and holding a flickering lamp, and was\u00a0within 50 metres of the temple when she was shot by the Indian soldiers,\u00a0from a school they were occupying. They discovered who they had killed and\u00a0set fire to the body where it lay, using a tyre. ..<\/p>\n

(2) Quoted from QUORA- JUST <\/strong>\u00a0A FEW NAMES OF TAMIL CIVILIANS KILLED BY IPKF\u201d <\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr A. Sivapathasuntheram<\/a>,\u00a0Dr M.K. Ganesharatnam<\/a>,\u00a0Dr Parimelalahar<\/a>,\u00a0Mrs Vadivelu<\/a>,\u00a0Mrs Leelawathie<\/a>,\u00a0Mrs Sivapakiam<\/a>,\u00a0Mrs Ramanathan<\/a>,\u00a0Mr Shanmugalingam<\/a>,\u00a0Mr Kanagalingam<\/a>,\u00a0Mr Krishnarajah<\/a>,\u00a0Mr Selvarajah<\/a>, R. Duraiswamy (SLAS) Retd. Secretary, Ministry of Local Government. M. Duraiwswamy Retd. Staff Officer Bank of Ceylon, Mr. S. Sivasubramaniam, retired Director of Irrigation, Mrs. Sivasubramaniam, his retired teacher wife and their only son, Prof. P. Chandrasekeram, University of Jaffna, Dr R.W. Crossette Thambiah, Dr Selvaratnam Former DMO Maskeliya, Dr S. Pararajasingham J.M.O, L.F.M. Samuel Rtd. Teacher (St. Thomas College, Mt. Lavinia & Royal College), K.J. Sambanthar Retd. DLO & Asst. Land Commissioner, Jaffna, Mrs S. Sivanandaraja (mother), Mohanraj (son) Technical Officer, Irrigation .Dept, Mrs Kishnam, Mrs M. Sebastiampillai, Mrs N.R. Thuriappa, Mrs V. Ruthiralingam, C.S. Aaron, A. Subramanium Attorney at Law, Mr & Mrs Pancharatnam, Rtd. Teachers, K. Navaratnam Rtd. Divisional Supdt. of Post Offices, S. Nadarajah, Formerly SLBC, Tamil Service, P. Arooran , M. Nadaraja, S. Rasanayagam Rtd. Credit Controller CCC Ltd., Mrs M. Weerasegaram Pillai, (Mother), Pillai Yasotha Weerasegaram (Daughter), Mrs S. Thanapalasingham (Mother) Miss N. Thanapalasingham (Daughter) S. Kulasegerampillai, Retd. Station Master, Mrs M. Arumugam (sister of Senator S.Nadesan<\/a>), Mrs R. Gnanamuttu , A. Candappu Rtd. State Officer, S. Selvaranee, S. Shanmugasuntharam, Electrician, Jaffna Municipal Council, S. Thambiah, (father of T. Sabaratnam), Mrs. Thambimuttu, Kannan Iyer\u2026\u00a0and thousands more\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

(3) Immigration Review Board \u2013Canada<\/p>\n

The report says AI makes no mention of abuse committed by IPKF against Tamil women<\/p>\n

Human rights abuses against young Tamil females by the Indian Peace Keeping Forces (IPKF) [LKA0935]<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>Prior to the signing of the Indo-Sri Lankan Peace Accord on 29 July 1987, there were numerous allegations of the rape of Tamil women by the Sri Lankan security forces. In most instances, these alleged rapes appear to have occurred in the context of large-scale military operations against Tamil militants in which villagers became the victims of excesses committed by Sinhalese soldiers. [ D.B.S. Jeyaraj, “Sri Lanka: A Time of Troubles,” in\u00a0Frontline,<\/u>\u00a0(Madras: The Hindu, 23 March – 5 April 1985), pp. 33 & 44.]<\/p>\n

<\/strong>Immediately following the signing of the Accord, allegations were made concerning the molestation of Tamil girls by members of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF). These allegations increased during the IPKF’s “mopping up” operations after it had successfully taken control of the LTTE stronghold of Jaffna in October 1987. [ William Maclean, “Civilians Risk Gauntlet of Guns to Flee Tamil City,” in\u00a0The Globe and Mail,<\/u>\u00a0[Toronto], 26 October 1987; Amnesty International,\u00a0Amnesty International Statement on the Situation in Sri Lanka With Respect to the Return of Tamils to Sri Lanka<\/u>\u00a0(London: Amnesty International, 1988), p. 2; ,\u00a0Sri Lanka: A Review of Alleged Human Rights Abuses<\/u>\u00a0(London: Amnesty International, 1988), p. 11.] In December 1987 a local magistrate reportedly found IPKF personnel guilty in seven cases of rape and in January 1988 an Indian court-martial sentenced four Indian soldiers to one year in prison for raping Tamil women. [Ibid<\/u>., p. 11.]<\/p>\n

<\/strong>The latest Amnesty International report of human rights violations in Sri Lanka makes no mention of instances of abuse committed against Sri Lankan Tamil females by the IPKF. A copy of that report is being forwarded for your information.<\/p>\n

[4] A statement from a Sri Lankan Parliamentarian\u2019s allegations about IPKF\u2019s human rights violations<\/p>\n

Paper No. 5819 \u00a0 Dated 10-Nov-2014<\/p>\n

By Col. R. Hariharan<\/p>\n

Sri Lanka Deputy Minister Vinayagamurthi Muralitharan, known as Karuna Amman in his earlier incarnation as LTTE commander of Batticaloa, accused the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) of rape and killings during its war against the LTTE in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 90.<\/p>\n

Speaking in Parliament on November 4, he said the IPKF had raped several Tamil women and also killed Tamils and there is evidence for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

[5]\u00a0Rape by Indian Soldiers<\/p>\n

The IPKF Operation in Jaffna did not stop with massacres of civilians. A large number of women were raped. The following quotation is taken from Prof. Daya Somasundaram\u2019s book Scarred Minds \u2013 The Psychological Impact of War on Sri Lankan Tamils.<\/em> Prof. Daya Somasundararn is the Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Jaffna.<\/p>\n

\u201d Although the total number of rapes during the Indian army operations are not known, it seemed to reach epidemic proportions. It has been verified that quite a large number, ranging from young girls who had just attained puberty to old women well past the menopause stage, were brutally raped.<\/em><\/p>\n

Rape became common in the context of total war as it obtained in the months of October to December (1987), when all the customary discipline and restraint\u00a0operative in the army disappeared. The public was seen as being too sympathetic to the Tigers, harbouring and helping them against the Indian army. Thus terror became an instrument of control, a punishment for the lack of support and a lesson to the public.<\/em><\/p>\n

But rape was much more gruesome as it was aimed specifically at women. It was carried out with considerable brutality and impersonality, where the victims were publicly defeminised and destroyed\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The above constitute some of the HR violations and war crimes committed by the IPKF in Sri Lanka and as AGREED BY YOU AT THE SAID INTERVIEW, PLEASE ARRANGE A METHODIACL PROBE SO THAT AI WILL BE ABLE TO prove beyond any doubt that the IPKF indeed was responsible for the crimes and the AI\u2019s image will be restored in the eyes of discriminating public.<\/p>\n

Contrary to your\/AI demand for acceptable investigation into SL Defence forces based on the OISL report which depends on evidence said to be reasonable grounds to believe\u201d- recognized in law as the lowest threshold of proof- the evidence against IPKF is cogent and is of a higher standard of proof.<\/p>\n

For more comprehensive documentation of IPKF war crimes please refer to the following websites:-<\/p>\n

Is the Indian Peace Keeping Force actually responsible for human rights violations in Sri Lanka?<\/a><\/p>\n

INDIAN ARMY’S WAR CRIMES \u2013 1987<\/p>\n

Commission of Inquiry on Indian War Crimes in Sri Lanka<\/a><\/p>\n

Studies Find Torture by Indian Troops in Sri Lanka – NYTimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n

1989 Valvettiturai massacre<\/a><\/p>\n

Jaffna hospital massacre<\/a><\/p>\n

We are awaiting your URGENT response.<\/p>\n

Thanking you<\/p>\n

Yours sincerely,<\/p>\n

Ranjith Soysa
\nMedia Spokesperson
\nGlobal Sri Lankan Forum<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ranjith Soysa Media Spokesperson Global Sri Lankan Forum Mr Salil Shetty, Secretary General-Amnesty International Dear Mr. Salil Shetty, REQUEST TO PROBE INTO THE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AND WAR CRIMES COMMITTED BY THE INDIAN PEACE KEEPING FORCE IN SRI LANKA IN 1987-1990. At an interview with the Mr Shamindra Ferdinando the \u00a0 Deputy Editor of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-security","category-terrorism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65418\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}