Arbitrary Arrests & Torture of Tamils continue in the South

Tamils - a Trans State Nation..

"To us all towns are one, all men our kin.
Life's good comes not from others' gift, nor ill
Man's pains and pains' relief are from within.
Thus have we seen in visions of the wise !."
- Tamil Poem in Purananuru, circa 500 B.C

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INDICTMENT AGAINST SRI LANKA

"Tamil arrests in several areas of southern Sri Lanka continued. The police arrested ten Tamil youths at Kalutara in mid-November. Twenty three Tamils were arrested at Mahiyawa in Kandy on 19 November and 20 detained for not possessing police registration documents.

Hill Country youth Suresh was arrested at Ragala in Nuwara Eliya District on the night of 8 November by persons who claimed to be from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). The following day another Ragala resident, Kanagaratnam and Punduloya youth N Yogeswaran were detained.... Development NGO Sarvodaya worker K Kanagaratnam and his wife were taken into custody at Grandpass suburb on 27 November.

Colombo trader K Thanikasalam, 51, says in a fundamental rights application to the Supreme Court that he is held by the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) since his arrest on 13 July on the Sixth Floor of the police headquarters, without being produced before a court. He has not been informed of the reasons for his arrest.

Rasaratnam Ariyaratnam, arrested in Colombo in November 1996 was released by court in November, after the state withdrew cases against him filed on the basis of a confession. Press reports say that he had been severely tortured in custody which has been confirmed by the government Judicial Medical Officer.

Over 30 Tamil prisoners in Kalutara prison began a new hunger strike on 28 November demanding trial or release. Some detainees climbed on to the roof of the prison. They ended the protest after Prisons Commissioner P Baskarasingham promised to discuss the issue with the Attorney General. There are currently 759 Tamils in Kalutara prison detained under Emergency regulations and the Prevention of Terrorism Act...." (British Refugee Council publication, Sri Lanka Monitor, November 1998)