Tuesday, Jan 21, 2003
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By V.S. Sambandan
The University Teachers for Human Rights-Jaffna (UTHR-J), a civil society group that has been monitoring human rights during the past two decades, has observed that ground-level developments pointed to the "consolidation of a totalitarian political ethos". In its latest report, which focuses on the eastern situation, it observed that "though the guns are silent", the consolidation of the peace process "is in practice being equated with the entrenchment of the LTTE and its political ideology". Rather than "solving problems", this was "exacerbating existing ones". Touching upon the volatile but crucial issue of relations with the Muslims, the UTHR-J said: "The LTTE's innate compulsions have already placed it irreversibly on a collision course with the Muslims and are furthering a climate of bitterness rather that of multi-ethnic harmony". It may be recalled that the issue of including a separate Muslim delegation at the talks has been postponed with the Tigers taking the position that political unity among the Muslims must precede a representation. This position has come under criticism by the Muslim leadership, which has said that the LTTE was playing the same card that Governments in the past used against the Tamil community. The UTHR-J also listed instances of abductions of political rivals and child conscription by the LTTE and said the Tigers' "stranglehold" over the Tamil community "will not allow a happier drift of events". Civil society groups in the south were also criticised on the ground that they had "failed to hold the Government accountable for the harm it is doing to the Tamil community". In addition, "by failing to hold the LTTE accountable, they have cynically discounted any role for the Tamil people in the peace process". The UTHR-J, which was formed in 1988 at the University of Jaffna, moved out of the peninsula after one of its founding members, Rajani Thiranagama, was killed, reportedly by the LTTE in 1989. The organisation also criticised the state forces for not arresting two persons connected with the alleged murder of a political leader belonging to a party opposed to the LTTE. Terming the present developments as "consolidating a totalitarian political ethos", it observed that doing so "to sustain the peace process is an attack on democracy and consequently on all other aspects of human rights". The UTHR-J's bulletin comes at a time when human rights issues are coming to the centrestage of the negotiation process. During the next session of talks, to be held next month in Thailand, Colombo and the LTTE will be joined by Ian Martin, former secretary-general of Amnesty International. The LTTE has taken the position that human rights would have to be seen as one that involved the collective rights of the Tamils.
Bishop criticises LTTE
The Bishop for Trincomalee and Batticaloa, Kingsley Swamipillai, has warned the LTTE that if it did not stop abduction and child conscription, he would take up the issue with international human rights organisations, media reports said. The Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission has said that abductions were continuing and that it had informed the LTTE that unless they were stopped, it would make public the figures.
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