Spiraling incidents of military

intimidation in the North: Ruki

Fernando

Featured image courtesy Tamil Guardian

RAISA WICKREMATUNGE on 03/10/2017

There have been increased incidents of military intimidation in the
last couple of weeks in areas like Pilakudiyirippu (near
Keppapulavu), Paravipaanchan in Kilinochchi, and
Puthukkudiyiruppu former military held lands which have been
released to former residents after sustained protests, human
rights activist Ruki Fernando said.
This culminated in the Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) questioning
Fernando during a visit to Pilakudiyirippu on March 9, he added.
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Ruki Fernando @rukitweets

AirForce questioned me yesterday
in #Pilavukudirupu , #Kepapulavu. Revenge for having to end 8yr
ocupation of village aft peoples protests?
7:06 PM - 9 Mar 2017
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I was talking to a few of the residents when two people in civilian
clothing came up to me. They asked me who I was and why I had
come. When I in turn asked them who they were, they informed
me that they were from the air force camp next to the village,
Fernando said. He added that he had refused to answer the
questions and had walked away, and the Air Force personnel had
not attempted to harass him further.
The people of Pilakudiyirippu have been protesting from January
31 to March 1 this year demanding the return of their lands, held
by the SLAF. Most of the land was released on March 1. However,
the residents of Pilakudiyirippu are facing the challenging
prospect of rebuilding their lives.
They are living in tents or under trees. They need housing, water
and electricity. Most of the residents are involved in casual work,
and their children go to school, but there is no bus service,
Fernando said of the returning families plight.
He added that while the Red Cross in Mullaitivu had provided
essentials such as pots, pans, mats, a bedsheet and a lamp to
each family, there had been absolutely no support from the
Government. The government needs to step in and provide for
these families. Its not enough to just release the land, Fernando
said.
Apart from the questioning, there have been other incidents of
intimidation, as the military react in anger to the release of lands
due to pressure, Fernando said.
Keppapulavu was in the news when residents protested day and
night for the return of their land, in the face of military
intimidation. A leading figure in the struggle for both Keppapulavu
and Pilakudiyirippu was Chandra Leela, whose house is still under
army occupation. Recently, Chandra Leela was stopped from
accessing her agricultural land, Fernando said. The Air Force is
now saying that the land she uses for agricultural purposes is the
property of the Forest Department. But she has legal
documentation, Fernando said. This is clearly retaliation due to
the partial success of the protests. The Government released 40
acres of land, in response to the protests other families are still
waiting for their land and have recommenced protests until it is
returned.
1 Mar

Garikaalan @garikaalan
"We are going home which my younger brother doesn't know of; I
too forgotten how its look like"children exited to see home
in #Keppapulavu pic.twitter.com/825bTvUGBN

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Garikaalan @garikaalan
Courageous women of #Keppapulavu led the struggle for lands;
Kowsalya-an outspoken lady was greeted by her fellow
protesters/villagers today pic.twitter.com/DvvfvArW55
2:42 AM - 1 Mar 2017
6969 Retweets
5959 likes
The military also regularly photograph any visitors. As soon as
we get down from a vehicle, we see people come from inside the
camp and photographing us. The people who are still protesting
noticed this too, Fernando said.
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Tamil Guardian
@TamilGuardian
Pilavu day 17: protestors under
surveillance http://tamilguardian.com/content/pilavu-day-17-
protestors-under-surveillance #Tamil #lka
2:19 PM - 16 Feb 2017

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A solidarity protest in Jaffna demanding for the release of military
occupied lands also saw military intimidating some of the
participants. I attended this protest, along with people from
Trincomalee and Mannar, and many others. Some military
personnel singled out one person and accused him of instigating
the protest, Fernando said.
4 Mar

Tamil Guardian
@TamilGuardian
Jeyakala's son was arrested in 2006 by army in Nallur-last photo
she has is of him at Boosa prison then
disappeared pic.twitter.com/dQpCHZu0Yr

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Tamil Guardian
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CID present on roadside in front of protest #jaffna
12:10 AM - 4 Mar 2017
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In Puthukkudiyiruppu, families returning to their land after one
month of protests, ending on March 3, found houses bulldozed,
doors, windows and toilet and kitchen fittings removed, and beer
and arrack bottles strewn around the area. A small shop had also
been destroyed. There was clearly anger from the side of the
military that people were getting their land back. The release of
military occupied land is part and parcel of reconciliation, and this
is exactly the opposite of what should be happening, Fernando
said.
In Keppapulavu, a new signboard states the surrounding land is
an army cantonment area, he added. There is a military
blockade which had been there for around five or six years. But
this signboard is new. I didnt see it when I visited around two
weeks before.
Parallel to the protests on military occupied land, families affected
by enforced disappearances in Vavuniya, Kilinochchi and most
recently Mullaitivu have also begun sustained protests. What is
significant about the protests in Vavuniya and Kilinochchi is that
they are actually trying to reach out for Sinhalese support. The
protests have banners in Sinhalese and some Tamil groups have
been sending out support letters in Sinhalese as well, Fernando
said. The protest in Mullaitivu is just two days old, and is much
smaller. However it is ongoing for 24 hours, with the families
working in shifts. Some of the people have to work, others are
leaving their children to come and protest. So they are trying to
strike a balance between going to work but also sustaining their
protests for 24 hours, Fernando said.
View image on Twitter
Follow

Selvaraja Rajasegar @SRajasegar

,
http://maatram.org/?p=5649 #lka #srilank
a#BeBoldForChange #IWD2017 #DisappearedSL
2:22 AM - 8 Mar 2017
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Your son will return. We dont know about your daughter: CID
Courtesy sister publication Maatram
9 Mar
 Garikaalan @garikaalan
In Muthur, Trinco- Day 5: Another protest underway in
Bhatathypuram demanding justice for
enforced #DisappearedSLpic.twitter.com/6jUlouhEvc

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Garikaalan @garikaalan
"I have been told @ all temples that my son is alive;I just wanted
to see him before I die"Vadivel Puhsparaani in
Kilinochchi #DisappearedSL pic.twitter.com/jJ9tNB7aQJ
3:39 AM - 10 Mar 2017
55 Retweets
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In the case of these families too, there has been limited progress,
apart from in Vavuniya, when State Minister of Defence Ruwan
Wijewardene promised to set up a meeting with the Minister of
Law and Order, the Attorney Generals Department, the IGP and
the Minister of Justice. The promise broke a four day hunger strike
that the families had launched, demanding answers. Following
that meeting, the only thing that occurred was that certain
members of the government accused the families of trying to
prioritise their individual cases. The families said that in fact it
was the government who had offered to expedite their cases,
which they had rejected as they wanted truth and justice for all
the families, Fernando said.
The families of Vavuniya waited two weeks to see if anything
would culminate from the meeting on February 9, and recently
began protesting again due to lack of action.
In the backdrop of this, a Sri Lankan delegation to the United
Nations asked for more time to implement UN resolution 30/1 of
2015, even as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights, Zeid Raad Al Hussein spoke of Sri Lankas slow
progress in areas such as accountability and reconciliation. The
UN Human Rights Council also asked for the return of all military
occupied land to civilians, as well as the end of military
involvement in civilian and administrative activities.

However, as is clear on the ground, incidents of intimidation

continue to occur, and returnee families such as those in
Pilakudiyirippu have to rebuild their lives with no support from the
State.
Posted by Thavam