8 years since abductions of TRO workers

30 January 2014 8 years have passed since 7 TRO workers were abducted by Sri Lankan government-backed paramilitaries in Batticaloa The kidnappings! which took place on the "#th and $%th o& 'anuary! has not led to a single arrest The missing aid workers are presumed dead Below is an e(tract &rom a statement released by the aid organisation! a year a&ter the disappearance )*t is with great sorrow and condolences to the &amilies that TRO now believes that our co-workers were e(ecuted soon a&ter being abducted by the +oSL-a&&iliated ,-aruna +roup. paramilitaries Recent news reports state that they were tortured be&ore being murdered and their bodies disposed o& ) )To date the Sri Lanka /olice and security &orces have yet to conduct any meaning&ul investigation or in0uiry into these disappearances The 1uman Rights 2ommission o& Sri Lanka investigated the case and made a report to its head that has never been released *n addition to not thoroughly investigating the abduction o& the TRO aid workers the +oSL has also not listed their case among the 34 cases that the /resident5s ,2ommission o& *n0uiry. will investigate ) )The atmosphere o& impunity that e(ists in Sri Lanka has lead to a steady decline in the status o& human rights and the sa&ety o& humanitarian workers on the island ) TRO Statement! 6arch 34 "%%7 See the &ull statement here

The 7 who are missing and believed dead are7 6r T186*R8'8 98S8:T18R8'8: 6r S18:6;+8:8T18: S;'<:=R8: 6r -8*L8S8/*LL8* R89*:T1*R8: 6r 8R;LT1898R8S8 S8T1<<S-8R8: 6s T18:;S1-O=* /R<6*:* 6r T18:+8R8S8 -8T1*R-868R 6r -8S*:8T18R +8:<S18L*:+86 Taking place as the LTT< were preparing to engage in talks with the Sri Lankan government in +eneva! the incident drew condemnation &rom many including the ;nited States! who said on the day a&ter the abductions! )The ; S <mbassy is concerned about the reported 'anuary $% kidnapping o& &ive members o& the Tamil Rehabilitation Organi>ation ?TRO@ at Aelikanda in /olonnaruwa =istrict The <mbassy urges the relevant authorities to rapidly investigate these allegations The <mbassy again calls on all parties to e(ercise restraint and calm! especially in the run-up to the cease-&ire talks in +eneva ) ;nited States <mbassy! 2olombo 'anuary $3 "%%B See more &rom a leaked ;S <mbassy cable here The Sri Lankan government meanwhile! maintained that the abduction! alongside other reports o& human rights violations were being ,diligently investigated. )The murders o& youth in Trincomalee! the reported abductions o& members o& the Tamil Rehabilitation Organi>ation! TRO! the assassination o& /arliamentarian 'oseph /araraCasingham and all other reported incidents are being diligently investigated by our law en&orcement authorities and we are taking all necessary action to bring the perpetrators o& these crimes to Custice ) Opening Statement by 6inister :imal Siripala deSilva! 1ead o& =elegation! +overnment o& Sri Lanka at the opening session o& the talks between +overnment o& Sri Lanka and the LTT<"" Debruary "%%B See the &ull opening statement here The week a&ter the abductions the TRO stated! )Ahat is especially troubling to TRO has been the reaction o& the media! civil society! the government and the law en&orcement authorities to the

two kidnappings TRO has been the victim o& this past week ) )The 0uestion! however distaste&ul must be asked! ,Aould all o& these actors5 responses be the same had Sarvodaya! Sewalanka or any other ,southern. :+O been the victim o& these crimes . Ae are all registered under the same Social Services 8ct ) 8rCun <thirveerasingam! TRO /roCect =evelopment 6anager! Tamils Rehabilitation Organisation! 2olombo $ Debruary "%%B See the &ull speech here *n a series o& statements issued in the a&termath o& the abductions! the TRO went on tosay! *t appears that a campaign o& terror has been unleashed on TRO personnel in the :orth<ast . The ;S <mbassy in 2olombo noted in a leaked cable! The TRO o&&ice in Batticaloa has been hit with grenades and gun&ire on three separate occasions over the past yearE in the most recent incident a security guard was killed . The aid agency continued to be targeted by paramilitary and government &orces a&ter the abductions! with attacks on their 2olombo and Trincomalee o&&ices See more in a "%%7 TRO press release here 8lso see our earlier post7 =ouble standards on the TRO ?%8 Debruary "%%B@ )6ore importantly! however! any hopes amongst the Tamils that the international community would intervene in their interests have again been dashed Like its response to the sabotaging o& last year5s tsunami deal by the Sinhala e(tremists! the international community has remained noticeably muted on the TRO abductions 8t a time when wide-scale condemnation might have ensured the swi&t return o& the missing aid workers! the international community chose to remain pointedly silent 8side &rom a re0uest by the ;S &or a state investigation! there has been no o&&icial criticism ) )8nd no one actually e(pects an investigation o& any worth! given Sri Lanka5s poor record and the identity o& the suspected perpetrators o& the abductions - indeed no state sponsored investigation into abuse by its security &orces has resulted in a single success&ul conviction during the history o& the ethnic

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