Centre for Policy Alternatives on 10 October, 2014 10 October 2014, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) is aware of an article in the Colombo Telegraph website published on 10 October 2014.
The article contains a number of allegations against the organisation and certain members of the staff.
As the Executive Director is travelling on work, CPA will post a response to these allegations on his return to Sri Lanka in the next two weeks.
Centre for Policy Alternatives on 2 October, 2014 2 October 2014, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) is deeply concerned about the recently concluded proceedings of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry to Investigate into Complaints Regarding Missing Persons (the Commission). More than a year into its mandate and in light of the practices that were evident at the recently concluded sittings, CPA questions as to whether the Commission is able to conduct investigations into its now expanded mandate. A more fundamental question must be posed – is not the failure to genuinely address the grievances of over 19,000 complainants a stark reminder of the flaws in and failures of domestic processes that are meant to investigate violations?
These questions are raised after observations of public sittings of the Commission and CPA reiterates to the Commission and the authorities that immediate steps must be taken to answer them. The absence of action in this respect, only serves to cast aspersions on the integrity and credibility of the Commission and on the possible outcomes of the present process. Lack of genuine steps at this juncture, will severely undermine efforts to arrive at truth, justice, accountability and reconciliation in Sri Lanka.
Some concerns from the recently concluded sittings:
1. Poor translations: CPA monitored the proceedings in both the Mulankavil and Pooneryn areas held between 27-30th September and noted the extremely poor quality of translations. In several instances the translated information was very different to the testimony provided. We highlight three examples:
*Commission: Did you have a makeshift house there?
Translator: Unkalukku veedu ontru irukkiratha? Veedu irukkutha ange? (Do you have a house there? where?)
Commission: Did you have a temporary shelter?
Translator: Neenkal niranthara oru mukamil iruntheerkala (Were you in a permanent camp?)
*Commission: You don’t know from where the shelling was coming from?
Translator: Enthe mukamil irunteerkal endru solla mudiuma? (Can you tell us the camps where you were at?)
*Commission: How many people came to take her?
Translator: Unkaloda eththanai per antha idaththil thanki iruntharkal pathukappu thedi thanki iruntharkal eththinai per irukkum? (How many people were staying in that place with you, how many people were staying there for security?)
2. Witness and Victim Protection: CPA has continuously called for credible witness and victim protection mechanisms for the safety of those who appear before the Commission. We repeat this call. At the Commission sittings on the 29th September at the Pooneryn Divisional Secretariat, individuals identifying themselves as military intelligence attended the sittings and photographed persons waiting to give testimony to the Commission. Furthermore, CPA noted the presence of several military personnel outside the venue. Photographs of the said incident can be found here. CPA believes that such tactics result in the intimidation of people wanting to come forward and exacerbate the fear of possible reprisals for speaking out publicly about past violations. This in turn will impact the testimony received by the Commission, raising questions of as to whether it has been able to have hearings, which are free from interference and whether the information received is not extremely limited and/or one-sided. Having attended previous sitting, CPA notes that this is not the first instance that military intelligence has attended, intimidated those in attendance and collected information on them. CPA notes that the danger posed to those attending the hearings is very real in the heavily militarized context of the North. Although a bill titled “Assistance to and Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses” was issued on 11th August 2014, the legislation is yet to be enacted and there is yet to be change on the ground that provides for effective protection. CPA has raised concerns on this issue and released a statement incorporating them.
3. Line of Questioning by the Commission: CPA notes that the Commissioners posed leading questions to those providing testimony. This implies bias and could lead to influencing testimony and subsequent findings. CPA is extremely concerned about this and strongly urges independence and impartiality in the line of questioning. An example of this is captured below:
Q: Was there shelling? A: Shell attack continued nonstop.
Q: Shell attack was to prevent you from crossing, no? A: We were allowed to go into the army- controlled area and army was there with us and they were directing us to move into the area. And shells started to hit behind.
Q: Shells came from behind you? A: No the shells started to hit behind. It came over our head.
Q: That means from the LTTE side, no? A: Yes. We were moving from the LTTE side into the Army side. And the army was there with us and they were directing us. And the shells started to go over our heads into our back side.
Q: That is, LTTE was shelling in order to prevent you from crossing over to army side? A: We can’t identify that. We wanted to safeguard our life. We were in fear for our life. We can’t say as to who could have shelled.
Q: Did LTTE encourage you to cross over to army side? A: Not so, not like that. At the beginning stage we were obstructed, we were stopped from going into army- controlled area.
Q: The LTTE was trying to cover themselves with you all being there? A: We can’t see that. The situation was such that we can’t say that. There was commotion. We can’t see that.
In addition to concerns with the proceedings, CPA also wants to raise the status of investigations before the Commission. Media reports indicate that the Commission has approached President Rajapaksa to appoint an investigating team to pursue cases of disappearances. Having observed the type of complaints that are heard at the Commission’s sittings, CPA is concerned by this request that can undermine efforts at a process that is meant to be independent and impartial. For example, a significant number of complaints of persons missing post-surrender to the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) have been provided to the Commission. Given that the President is also the Minister of Defence and Commander in Chief, CPA raises questions as to how such a request can lead to an independent team and process. Furthermore, CPA notes that the framework used to appoint the Commission provides it with the mandate to investigate and/or to apply for assistance from public officials in order to carry out its mandated tasks. CPA urges that the Commission reexamines powers within its mandate and explores the creation of an investigative team that is within the Commission and which is beyond possible interferences from external actors.
Background
In March, CPA produced a commentary on the proceedings of the Commission, highlighting the Commission’s inability to carry out a comprehensive, independent and transparent inquiry into the matters mandated, due to structural flaws of the Commission of Inquiry mechanism in Sri Lanka. Although the Commission did not adopt most of recommendations made in the policy brief, CPA continues to engage with the Commission reiterating the importance of procedural safeguards to protect the Commission’s integrity and credibility in facilitating a legitimate truth seeking process for those still seeking their loved ones, five years after the war.
In July, CPA issued a statement raising concerns about the expansion of the Commission’s mandate to include inquiry into a wide range of issues including violations of International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law. We fear that the primary focus of inquiring into the large number of unresolved cases of disappearances will be diluted by the expanded mandate. Furthermore in September, CPA highlighted the pace of the proceedings and the need for a better methodology to approach the issue of disappearances, now compounded by the expanded mandate of the Commission.
Download a PDF of this press release here.
Centre for Policy Alternatives on 24 September, 2014 24 September 2014, Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) is pleased to launch ‘Liking violence: A study of hate speech on Facebook in Sri Lanka’, authored by Shilpa Samaratunge and Sanjana Hattotuwa.
The report is the first in Sri Lanka to focus on hate and dangerous speech in online fora, contextualising the growth of this disturbing digital content with increasing violence against Muslims and other groups in Sri Lanka. As the blurb on the front cover of the report avers,
The growth of online hate speech in Sri Lanka does not guarantee another pogrom. It does however pose a range of other challenges to government and governance around social, ethnic, cultural and religious co-existence, diversity and, ultimately, to the very core of debates around how we see and organise ourselves post-war.
The report looks at 20 Facebook groups in Sri Lanka over a couple of months, focussing on content generated just before, during and immediately after violence against the Muslim community. Detailed translations into English of the original material posted to these groups (including photographic and visual content) and the responses they generated are provided. It is the first time a study has translated into English the qualitative nature of commentary and content published on these Facebook groups, indicative of a larger and growing malaise in post-war Sri Lanka.
More generally, the study looks at the phenomenon of hate speech online – how it occurs and spreads online, what kind of content is produced, by whom and for which audiences. In addition to Sri Lanka, policy frameworks and legislation around online hate speech in Kenya, Rwanda, India, Pakistan, Canada and Australia are also flagged in the report.
Centre for Policy Alternatives on 19 September, 2014 With the Uva Provincial Council elections taking place tomorrow, Social Indicator, the survey research unit of the Centre for Policy Alternatives has analysed data from field work conducted in May and June 2014 to get a sense of the issues and priorities of the people of Uva as they go to vote.
The current state of the economy has had an impact on the lives of the people in the Uva Province, especially at the household level. 43.4% of people say that the financial situation in their household is a little worse when compared to 2 years ago, while 31.9% say that it is a lot worse. This situation has led to certain compromises in terms of food intake and even medical treatment – with 43% stating that they have cut back on the quality of food they purchase and 28.6% of the households stating that they have gone without medicine or medical treatment in the last year. Almost 90% of those from the Uva Province say that they would like to see a reduction in the cost of living as a result of the current development drive. The cost of living is also the second most important area they believe the Government should pay attention to, with Agriculture taking the first priority and infrastructure coming in third. When asked what they think of the current economic situation of the country, 44.6% believe that it is somewhat bad while 12.5% say it is very bad.
Centre for Policy Alternatives on 18 September, 2014 Five years since the end of the war, a significant military presence still remains in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. This despite repeated assurances by the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) that the military presence is, and will be phased out in order to pave way for post-war reconciliation efforts. In a context of increased militarization, the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) highlights the numerous statements made by Government officials regarding the varying numbers pertaining to the apparent reduction of forces. The contradictions in the actual situation are highlighted by the statements made by President Rajapaksa, who in January 2014 claimed that there was a presence of 12,000 military personnel in the North with Lalith Weeratunga, Secretary to the President claiming only two days later, the presence of 80,000 military personnel in the North.
Additionally, the GoSL is in the practice of acquiring swathes of private land in both the Northern and Eastern Provinces, claiming it is for military use. In November 2013, CPA published a policy brief flagging these disturbing trends in land acquisition which amount to land grabs. CPA has also highlighted the disturbing trend of acquiring private land under the guise of a “public purpose”. Increasing evidence suggests that private land acquired for military use, is in fact given out for commercial ventures.
For more information on CPA’s research on land in the Northern province see here.
Centre for Policy Alternatives on 18 September, 2014 
The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) has compiled a brief guide on land rights in Sri Lanka which is aimed at creating awareness among the public on the legal status regarding land ownership and control and remedies available. CPA produced a similar guide in 2011 addressing land issues in the North and East of Sri Lanka in the immediate post war context. The present guide addresses land issues across Sri Lanka including continuing trends of problems caused by a lack of documentation and illegal and arbitrary land acquisitions and evictions. The guide will be available in Sinhala, Tamil and English.
Download the guide in English as a PDF here or read it online here.
Centre for Policy Alternatives on 16 September, 2014 Religious tensions have been exacerbated in post-war Sri Lanka, contrary to claims by the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) that attacks against places of religious worship are isolated incidents. In Mach 2013, the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) published a report highlighting concerns about violence and intolerance against all religious communities in the country. The trends highlighted by CPA have continued unabated, most recently evident in the June 2014 violence in Aluthgama and surrounding areas. Other incidents of violence have not received the same attention as Authgama, thereby skewing the understanding of the scale and level of violence targeting minority religions in particular, in Sri Lanka.
In June 2014, CPA highlighted the impact of these attacks on post-war reconciliation efforts and condemned the attacks in Aluthgama and surrounding areas. CPA urged the GoSL to take immediate and all necessary steps to provide protection to the affected communities, investigate the heinous acts and hold to account all perpetrators and those complicit in such acts. In July 2014 CPA compiled a short brief on the constitutional and legal framework governing religious freedom in Sri Lanka.
Three months since the Aluthgama attack, there is limited information in the public domain on action taken to bring perpetrators to account. That there is still is no justice for the victims of religious violence in Aluthgama and elsewhere in Sri Lanka, illustrates the sheer impunity with which perpertrators of such violence operate and the GoSL’s unwillingness and/or inability to end to widespread religious violence in post-war Sri Lanka.
Download this Infographic as a high resolution PDF here.