On March 26, 2020, President
Gotabhaya Rajapaksa granted a presidential pardon and released convicted death
row prisoner and mass murderer, former Army Staff
Sergeant R. M. Sunil Rathnayake. While
the country is on lockdown due to COVID-19, the President has seized this opportunity
to deal a lethal blow to the rule of law to show that military perpetrators of
heinous crimes will be given cover at the highest level despite the rulings of the
Supreme Court the highest court in our land. In pardoning Ratnayake, the
President has given his blessing to a cold-blooded
killer who murdered a five-year-old child and seven other innocent civilians.
The story of the civilian murders in
Mirusuvil goes back to twenty years – on December 19 2000, nine Tamils civilians
– including three teenagers and a five-year old child – travelled from Udipiddy
to Mirusuvil, a village 16 miles from Jaffna town, in the Northern Province of
Sri Lanka. These persons were among those displaced from Mirusuvil due
to the civil war who were resettled in a camp at Udupitty. Displaced family
members used to obtain permission from the Sri Lankan Army to visit their
homes. But on this day, those who visited their village never returned. It soon
emerged that eight of the nine were killed by the Sri Lankan Army.
On December 24, 2000, one
of the missing, recounted the incident and gave details about the whereabouts
of the remaining eight. On his evidence when the police and the Magistrate went
to the site there were no bodies except a skeleton of the animal in the toilet
pit. After that when the Military – Police arrested the persons who were on
duty in the area, Sergeant R.M. Sunil Rathnayake
gave a statement to the Military Police stating
that the bodies were removed from the
toilet pit and buried somewhere else. Thereafter the Police and the Magistrate
went to the site of the burial and exhumed the bodies. Four men and four
children were found with throats slit and eyes blindfolded. Some corpses had their hands and legs chopped
off.
The deceased belonged to four
families. A single family lost four
members, including children aged 13 and 5.
Another lost two breadwinners.
Two more also lost primary breadwinners.
Justice took more than a decade to wind its way but,
against all odds, judgment was delivered at last. On June 24, 2015, former Army
Sergeant R. M. Sunil Rathnayake who had been enlarged on bail pending trial was found guilty of murdering the eight civilians
and was sentenced to death by the Trial at Bar consisting of three High Court
Judges held in Colombo. On appeal against the said judgment a five – Judge bench
of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka unanimously affirmed the conviction and sentence
on April 25, 2019.
By granting the presidential pardon to Sergeant R.M. Sunil Rathnayake, power has been abused and justice has been
forsaken. In a country where military
perpetrators have rarely been held to account, leading ethnic distrust to
fester into war, the President has granted a pardon to one of few men actually
held accountable by our nation’s highest court. His pardon is a direct challenge
to judicial independence and will result in the further erosion and loss of
confidence in the Sri Lankan justice system among war-affected
communities.
For the four families directly affected, who have
suffered from poverty and immeasurable personal loss, their small sliver of solace
has been snatched away. When the sole
surviving witness was previously visited by state intelligence officers soon
after the presidential election, he expressed his apprehension that, he has no
security or protection if the accused is released. Now that threat is real, and our laws and structures are hardly
equipped to protect him.
It is a matter of regret and national tragedy that
neither the state nor government authorities have over the years offered
reparations or compensations to the families of the dead who have been deprived
of their bread winners and are condemned to live in poverty for the rest of
their lives.
Soon after the Presidential election, news media
speculated that the Mirusuvil murderer was to be granted a presidential pardon
and released. Affected families were terribly upset and lodged complaints before
the Human Rights Commission in Jaffna and in the media. Right now, with the
country in lock down, victims’ families are in no position to demonstrate their
disapproval and distress. While
pretending to save the country from COVID-19, the President is actually using
his constitutional powers to fulfill his inflammatory electoral pledge to
release “war heroes” from prison.
To put it in context, the country withdrew from its UNHRC
commitments last month. The President declared that there are no disappeared
persons, and those believed missing are all dead. His government has promoted
suspected war criminals as head of operations in military sectors, and General Shavendra
Silva is touted as a savior against COVID 19. The military is increasingly involved
in all civilian activities. New roadblocks and checkpoints have been introduced
solely in the Northern Province. And now
a convicted mass murderer is pardoned and released by the President.
In perspective, the act of granting presidential pardon
to a convicted criminal conveys the chilling message to the public that,
irrespective of the gravity of the offence, offenders from the security forces
will not be punished even if convicted by Court of Law and that any crime or
violence committed against the ethnic communities will go unpunished. The
security forces including the police already enjoying high degree of impunity will
surely be further emboldened by the
covert encouragement by the government to commit further atrocities against the
hapless and vulnerable people. As organizations and individuals who are
committed to the Rule of Law and to the protection of democratic values, we
vehemently and unreservedly condemn the presidential pardon granted to Sergeant R.M. Sunil Rathnayake which said act will undoubtedly lead to further
militarization of the society and contribute to disunity and distrust among
communities in the country.
Endorsed by:
- Centre for human
Rights and Development (CHRD)
- Women’s Action
Network (WAN)
- International
Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES)
- Centre for Policy
Alternatives (CPA)
- Human Rights
Office – Kandy
- Human
Elevation Organization (HEO)- Ampara
- Law
and Society Trust (LST)
- Eastern
Social Development Foundation (ESDF)
- Mannar
Women’s Development Federation (MWDF)
- National Fisheries
Solidarity Movement (NAFSO)
- Affected Women’s
Forum (AWF)- Ampara
- Rural Development
Foundation (RDF)
- Institute
of Social Development (ISD)- Kandy
- Committee for the Protection of the Rights of Prisoners
(CPRP)
- INFORM Human Rights Documentation Centre
- Federation
of Media Employees’ Trade Unions
- Centre
for Justice and Change, Trincomalee
- Rights Now – Collective for Democracy
- Right
to Life Human Rights Centre
- Sri
Lanka Working Journalists Association
- Movement
for Land and Agriculture Reform (MONLAR)
- Families
of the Disappeared
Click here to download the statement in English, Sinhala, and Tamil.
