I WAS TORTURED IN SRI

LANKA FOR HARBORING

TAMILS
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott. Photo via Wikimedia Commons
By Michael Allen May 14 2014
Last week, the Australian overnment !eci!e! not to co"s#onsor a $%
in&uiry into human"rihts abuses in 'ri Lanka. The 'ri Lankan overnment praised its
"bold" decision, an! (e)ense 'ecretary *otabaya +a,a#aksa #ose! )or a celebratory
shot with Australian -mmiration Minister 'cott Morrison as the )ormer han!e! the
latter a #remium bo. o) (ilmah tea.
The !eal, which is essentially the Australian overnment turnin a blin! eye to the
torture of Sri Lankan citizens, amon other abuses, has been criticized as #lacin
Australia on /the same team as 0hina, +ussia, an! the 0ono in o##osin the
investiation./ The areement is a##arently base! on the e.cellent relations between
the two countries, which o) course !oesn1t ,usti)y it in any sha#e or )orm.
The news comes a )ew months a)ter Prime Minister Tony Abbott defended Sri
Lankas human-rights record by statin that /sometimes in !i))icult circumstances
!i))icult thins ha##en.2 That ethical a#athy wasn1t e.actly sur#risin )rom a man
whose overnment has been a!o#tin an increasinly militari3e! stance towar!
4!e)en!in2 the country )rom anyone with brown skin,locking refugees and asylum
seekers away in o))shore !etention cam#s.
Many o) the allee! human rihts abuses took #lace !urin the 'ri Lankan civil war,
which en!e! in 2005 when overnment )orces !e)eate! the Liberation Tiers o) Tamil
6elam 7LTT68 wi!ely known as the Tamil Tiers9 a)ter more than two !eca!es o)
con)lict. The en! o) the )ihtin also en!e! the Tiers1 ho#e o) establishin an
autonomous:or, at least, semi"autonomous:Tamil state in the north an! east o) the
islan!.
Anbu, a ;<"year"ol! Tamil torture victim, shows the scars on his back )rom bein bran!e! with a hot iron.
The Tiers have been linked to numerous massacres and assassinations, an! a
source tol! me that !urin their bus"bombin cam#ain in the islan!1s ca#ital city,
0olombo, mothers, an! )athers woul! o)ten travel se#arately to avoi! or#hanin their
chil!ren shoul! their bus be blown u#. =) course, the $% in&uiry isn1t ,ust into Tamil
activity8 it1s also investiatin abuses allee!ly committe! by the 'ri Lankan
overnment, which is why Australia>s collusion has rattle! so many critics.
/Pual/ 7whose name has been chane! to #rotect his )amily still in 'ri Lanka9 is a 2?"
year"ol! Tamil )rom eastern 'ri Lanka who was recently rante! asylum in the $@ a)ter
bein torture! in 'ri Lanka, an! is now receivin treatment )rom the charity Freedom
from orture. - met him at the charity>s o))ices, where he tol! me about the abuses
he1! su))ere! at the han!s o) #eo#le he is convince! were sol!iers un!er the !irect
control o) the 'ri Lankan overnment. Aere>s what he ha! to sayB
/Pual/ in the Cree!om )rom Torture o))ices
My brother ha! sent two #eo#le to 0olombo. - ke#t them in my house, su##orte!
them, an! looke! a)ter them between 200D an! 2005. Ehen they )irst arrive!, my
brother tol! me they were stu!ents, an! - believe! him. But a)ter two months, - )oun!
wea#ons. They ha! a cou#le o) #istols an! also somethin that looke! like a bomb.
They were LTT6 members.
'oon a)ter the war en!e! in May o) 2005, the overnment starte! a hue cam#ain o)
arrestin very im#ortant #eo#le who ha! hel#e! the Tiers in 0olombo. They were
checkin all the Tamil homes to see whether anyone ha! arrive! there recently. (urin
that check was when they )irst took me to the #olice. They checke! all the reistration
but sent us back, sayin everythin was in or!er.
A)ter that, these two LTT6 uys le)t my home but !i!n1t tell me anythin. - coul!n1t
contact my brother because - !i!n1t know how to contact him. These uys ha! le)t
without tellin me, an! - reali3e! - was in some kin! o) !aner, so - starte! slee#in at
an aunt1s house in a suburb o) 0olombo. - s#oke to a Tamil #astor at the church - use!
to o to an! !iscusse! this #roblem with him.
Ae a!vise! me, /Ehy !on1t you ,ust et out o) this #laceF Ehy !on1t you leave the
countryF/ - &uickly a##lie! )or the stu!ent visa to come an! stu!y in Lon!on, but it was
re)use!.
Tamil #rotesters in Parliament '&uare. Photo via Wikimedia Commons
The secon! time - a##lie!, - ot the visa, but on the niht o) A#ril 1 they came an!
knocke! on my aunt1s !oor. My uncle aske!, /Eho is itF/ an! they sai!, /Ee are the
#olice,/ but it was the army, not the #olice. They checke! everyone1s -( car!s. They
checke! mine an! sai! they ha! to take me away )or in&uiries.
My uncle aske!, /Ehere are you takin himF/ But they hit me on the chest with the
butt o) an A@"4?, an! with that one hit - )ell aainst the wall. They bent my arm aroun!
my back an! #ut me into their ,ee#. Then they blin!)ol!e! me.
They took me somewhere, an! - !i!n1t know where it was. They untie! the blin!)ol!,
an! - saw that there were alrea!y another )ive #eo#le there. =ne o) the uys was an
LTT6 member who ha! been livin in my house. Ae was all bloo!y, an! it was obvious
that he>! been beaten. Then three army uys came in an! took me out o) the cell.
They took me to another room nearby. - knew what was oin to ha##en to me,
because everyone knows what ha##ens to Tamils in that situation.
They took my clothes o)) me an! tie! my han!s to a metal bar. They starte! askin me
&uestions an! beatin me. They use! iron ir!ers an! PG0 #i#in )ille! with san! an!
!irt. -t hurts like hell, but it !oesn>t leave marks. That was the )irst time ->ve ever been
beaten in my entire li)e. - coul!n1t bear the #ain. - was screamin. - was cryin. -t was
the )irst time in my li)e that - saw in )ront o) me not a man but an animal. - bee! them
to sto# beatin me, but they woul!n>t. They were inhuman. - )elt li)eless at the en! o) it.
A)terwar!, they took me to the cell, but they !i!n1t untie me. My back was throbbin
with #ain. - woul! lean aainst the wall an! #ush mysel) aainst it to numb the #ain
The ne.t mornin, they came to et me aain. They #ut a number aroun! my neck
an! took a #hotora#h an! )iner#rinte! me. They brouht me back into the cell,
untie! me, an! ave me a bun an! a milk #acket. That niht, three army men came
an! took me. - thouht - was oin to !ie.
=ne uy #lue! an iron in an! then came an! sai!, /-) you !on1t tell the truth, we will
burn you./ - !i!n1t know how much to tell them. - ,ust ke#t sayin that - !i!n1t !o
anythin. 6ven with that, they burne! me on my han!. Eith each &uestion, they burne! me on
my thih.
- was torture! )or ,ust over a week, an! on three !i))erent !ays they torture! me
se.ually. They ra#e! me, an! they #ut their #enises in my mouth. They were )ully
!runk, all three o) them.
->! ha! only my un!er#ants to wear the whole time - was there.
/Pual/
=n the last !ay, two o))icers aske! me to come out. They blin!)ol!e! me an! #ut me in
a vehicle. - thouht, =@, they are oin to take me to )inish me o)). Because -1m a
0hristian, - bean to #ray. - was certain - was oin to !ie. - #raye! to *o!, sayin,
/-1m surren!erin my s#irit to you8 -1m now oin to !ie./
'u!!enly, the van sto##e!. Then they ma!e me et !own on my knees, so - thouht
this was where they were oin to shoot me. But the uys took me out )rom the
vehicle an! ma!e me et into another vehicle.
The uy who was in that vehicle un!i! my blin!)ol!. To my sur#rise, the uy who
untie! me was my wi)e1s )ather"in"law1s )rien!. They ha! contacte! an aent Ha )i.er
who can bribe o))icials an! orani3e )orein travelI an! iven them a hue bribe an!
ot me out. -n total, the bribes:inclu!in what - later ave to my aent to hel# me et
to the $@:were J million ru#ees, which is aroun! K;D,000. -n 'ri Lanka, that1s
someone1s li)e savins:enouh to buy a mo!est house. Peo#le who !on1t have the
money to !o this:they ,ust !ie.