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  Name: Iyathurai Baskaran
Age: 27
Marital status: Married with two children aged 3 and 5
Address: Katkovalam, Point Pedro
Occupation: Fishing & Mason (Builder)
Baskaran grew up in Kudaththanai with his adopted family and
attended the Kudaththanai American Mission Tamil Mixed School. He left school after studying
GCE OL classes. He began to work as a fisherman to earn a living. As his adopted
siblings displaced from the island during the war, Baskaran took over the full responsibility of
taking care of his aging parents. Baskaran married six years ago and they have two young
children. His family continued to live in Kudaththanai so that Baskaran can take care of
his aging parents. Baskaran has recently obtained a passport with the intention of
traveling overseas to escape the threats he faced in his village. The above photo is from his
passport.
Past arrests and torture
According to his friends and relatives, Baskaran was arrested twice
by the Sri Lankan military, under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). His first
arrest was in 1997. He was kept in the Kaluththurai prison for around six months. He was
tortured during this period. He was hung upside down and beaten. A bag filled with petrol fumes was
tied over his head. He was produced in the courts and released after the courts found him
innocent. He was arrested again in 1999 and was again released by the courts a few months
later after he was found innocent. He married soon after his second release.
Recent harassment and the move by the family
Few months prior to his shooting, Baskaran’s family and his parents
moved to Katkovalam, unable to bear the harassment by the Sri Lankan military and the
local paramilitaries in Kudaththanai. The two villages are separated by a distance of about
6 km.
Events surrounding the shooting
Sri Lankan Army (SLA) rounded up Baskaran’s home in Kudaththanai on
January 5th, the day before the shooting. They held him for questioning for a long
time. SLA searched the house premises, including the belongings of Baskaran’s children, for
a long time. They were there from 5.30 until 8.30 pm. SLA accused Baskaran of belonging to
LTTE and of possessing Claymore mines. Baskaran told them that he does not get
involved in anything like that. He begged the SLA to inquire from the neighbours. When
the SLA finally left they warned that the family that they must report any visit by the LTTE
to their home.
Baskaran was unable to go fishing in Katkovalam because he had the
“pass” (Sri Lankan Navy permission) to fish only in Kudaththanai and not in Katkovalam.
He had therefore started to go to work as a builder in Katkovalam. His wife had
advised him to go to Vanni because of the threats and harassment by the SLA. Baskaran had
refused to leave his aging parents because there was no one else to take care of them. That
night, however, the family went to bed considering more seriously about a shift to Vanni.
Around 11.00 pm someone called out “Baskar”. Thinking it was his
friends next door Baskaran opened the door. The men standing at the door tried to pull
Baskaran by his teeshirt. Baskaran was holding on to the door and begged them to let him go
because he has young children. When his wife screamed they pointed the gun at her
and she stopped screaming. Baskaran’s wife grabbed his tee-shirt and tried to pull
him back into the house. Baskaran pushed his wife away fearing that the invaders will harm
her.
The invaders then asked what Baskaran wanted as a last request. He
said that he wanted to see his children. His wife turned to go inside to collect the
children and she heard the gunshots. Baskaran was lying on the ground and was in pain. His wife
was afraid to go near him. Baskaran’s neighbours who attempted to come to the aid of the
family after hearing his wife’s screams discovered that armed SLA were guarding their doors
preventing them from leaving their homes. The invaders left after warning his wife that
they will come back the next day to search the house again. After the invaders and the SLA
in the surroundings had left, neighbours tried to hire a vehicle to take Baskaran to the
hospital. None of the drivers were willing to take Baskaran to the hospital out of fear of
retribution by the SLA. Baskaran died of the gunshot wounds soon after.
One of Baskaran’s friends came and looked closely at the dead body
of Baskaran. Immediately the news had traveled to the SLA, who arrived demanding
the identity of the person who came to look at Baskaran’s body. That person has gone
into hiding. Next morning the same men who shot Baskaran came and looked around.
When the magistrate came for the inquiry no one was willing to tell the
magistrate the truth. Out of fear, Baskaran’s wife told the magistrate that she did not see
anything except the dead body of Baskaran. Very few people came to the funeral out of fear. SLA
threatened Baskaran’s father for informing the local government official (GS) about the
incident.
SLA officer named “Jegath”
Friends and relatives say that they can identify one SLA officer by
the name Jegath who was stationed in Kudaththanai for several years. He was also present
during the shooting in Katkovalam at Baskaran’s house. He may have now been transferred to
another area. Some of them also said that Jegath may have been transferred to the
Muhamalai checkpoint which is the border point between the SLA controlled and LTTE administered
areas through which everyone moving between the two areas must pass through.
What villagers said
Two men from their area, Kamalakannan and Kuhan were arrested. Their
family was able to see the two men after the arrest. Villagers said that these two men
have now been sent to the Kaluththurai prison in Colombo.
Villagers also said that out of about 500 families that lived in
their area only about 25 are still staying there.
Note by NESOHR:
NESOHR is with holding the identities of the people who have
provided us with information about the case for their own safety. NESOHR is ready to share more
detailed information with any reputable international human rights organizations wishing
to inquire into this case.
International diplomats, media personnel and INGO staff in the
island have asked us why we have not issued reports on the attacks on the Sri Lankan military.
We are surprised by this question. NESOHR is styled as a national human rights organization
and its main task is to protect the human rights of those who are unarmed. For this reason
we do not bring under our purview the attacks on armed persons like the Sri Lankan
military, members of the LTTE and members of other armed groups.
Dr N Malathy (NESOHR Secretary) |
