NOTES OF A EUROPEAN CONSULTATION MEETING NOVEMBER 10th 1984
TAMILS
A. BACKGROUND
1. Amnesty International, for more than a year, has opposed all refoulment of
Tamils to Sri Lanka. The policy was adopted in July 1983 after a wave of killings throughout Sri Lanka. Amnesty received reports, which were subsequently substantiated, that Tamil civilians were indiscriminately killed by members of the Security forces. Various reports have been published by Amnesty: Mission Report - gives legal background (slightly outdated) on human rights violations etc; Country Report - summarises Amnesty's concern and gives detailed evidence of extrajudicial killings and human rights violations. Amnesty maintains the position that no Tamil should be sent back - this is constantly under review since the situation may improve. Major reasons for maintaining this position at present include:
2.
2.
a)
b)
new wave of violence over the summer, further allegations of extrajudicial killings and reports of a security forces rampage in August in revenge for the shooting of army personnel. The Sri Lankan government's response to these reports is either that those killed were responsible for the army shootings or that they were civilians caught in the crossfire between the security forces and the "terrorists" attacking them. Independent observers argued otherwise, and after pressure from international press reports the government was forced to retract its version of events and order an investigation the results of this are not known.
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In September a bus carrying Sinhalese and Tamils was stopped by Sinhalese- speaking people, not in army uniform but wearing clothes identified with the security forces. They asked all Sinhalese plus women and children to leave the bus, then lined up and shot 16 Tamil men. The government again denied that army personnel were involved, only suggesting that they might be dismissed ex-army personnel.
c) There are continuing allegations of extrajudicial killings and the Sri
Lankan government has failed to take strong action on this. The government has stated the security forces now receive more training regarding their code. of conduct and law enforcement, and has also stated that proceedings will be taken against some 30 members of the security forces regarding their part in the killings. However, Amnesty has received very few reports of the instigation of such proceedings and knows of few cases where inquests into the deaths have been held.
It seems that where killings have occured the security forces have carried out indiscriminate arrests. There are also reports of torture being inflicted by the lower army ranks. It appears that these incidents are stopped if word of them reaches the higher ranks. Reports have been received of the arrest of approximately 500 young male Tamils from a Northern village. They were taken to the South and only after continuous representations by relatives were they located. most have now been released. This is, to Amnesty's knowledge, an entirely new and worrying development. It is becoming apparent that the most threatened group is young Tamil males aged approximately between 18-25. Very few allegations have been received regarding ili-treatment of these latest cases, but Amensty is currently experiencing difficulties in assessing the information it receives on human rights violations since the departure from Sri Lanka of
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