JDSLanka

Sri Lanka military to issue death certificates for disappeared

Relatives of the disappeared in northern Sri Lanka have been forced by the military to accept death certificates for Tamils  in state custody.

Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran informed JDS that the military has ordered parents and family members in Mullaitheevu to furnish details of their loved ones who have been reported missing in order to issue death certificates. He said that he has had reports of similar military activity in other areas of the north.

"On 20 July, about 30 parents, whose children are missing were summoned by the military to the Mullaithivu police station" Premachandran said. "The military officers who were at the police station had asked the parents to write down all the details about the missing members of their families which they did. But when the military asked them to sign a blank sheet of paper, they had become suspicious" he added.

Family members are shocked by the military ruling as most of their loved ones have either surrendered or been handed over to the Sri Lankan military following the military defeat of the Tamil Tigers in May 2009. The details have already been supplied to police as well as to the military. The military has approached the family members of the disappeared through contact details provided when registering the surrender or handover.

Relatives of missing people have been told by military that the government has decided to issue death certificates to those disappeared as ‘it has been three years since they have gone missing’.

'Military has no authority'

Opposition legislator Premachandran said that the angry relatives approached him to question the government motive in handing over death certificates instead of investigating the disappearances. He said that family members have questioned the police how their loved ones have gone missing after the Sri Lankan military took over their custody.

“I was told that that even in Kilinochchi, the military has followed the same procedure. They have no authority to summon the people and force them to accept death certificates ” charged the TNA parliamentarian who said that TE Anandarajah, a commissioner of Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, has also been made aware of the military action in Mullaitheevu and Kilinochchi.

The Sri Lankan military forcing relatives of the disappeared to accept death certificates comes following the government’s own Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) and United Nations Human Rights Council call for government accountability on safeguarding human rights in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka’s human rights record is due to be reviewed in October by the UNHRC.

Photo courtesy: Sampath Samarakoon | vikalpa.org

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