Guest Comments by the Asian Centre for the Progress of Peoples

Editor’s Note: The Asian Centre for the Progress of Peoples (ACPP) is based in Hong Kong. For more information: www.acpp.org.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Leading human-rights lawyer J.C. Weliamuna has been under threat on fabricated charges. Since Sri Lanka’s state-emergency laws allow police to arrest and detain suspects for long periods without trial, there are grave concerns that the authorities will continue to abuse him.

An unofficial report indicates that the Sri Lanka State Intelligence Unit has prepared a surveillance list of 35 journalists and human-rights activists categorized using a points system based on their work. Weliamuna heads the list, which also contains the names of journalists inside the country and some who have fled overseas, but remain active in media work. Sources say the government wants a country entirely without a free media.

Weliamuna has defended people affected by human-rights abuses like torture, extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances. Many cases are politically charged, and he inevitably challenges the powers of abusers, including the police, government ministers and military officials. He also joins public campaigns against corruption.

Harassment of human-rights defenders intensified after the recent presidential election. Election-monitoring organizations complained that President Mahinda Rajapaksa used state resources for electoral purposes. Now the Rajapaksa government appears to be campaigning against anti-corruption individuals and organizations.

For months, Weliamuna and his organization, Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL), have endured the local print media trying to undermine his reputation and the credibility of anti-corruption work. The government also has increased scrutiny of non-governmental organizations and sought legal powers to hamper them.

Domestic media reports imply that Weliamuna misused funds and that NGOs like TISL have received money from foreign intelligence agencies and tried to destabilize the nation. As early as 2008, attackers hurled grenades at Weliamuna’s home. Luckily, no one died. The case was reported, but no investigation ensued. Recently, far-fetched suggestions emerged that Weliamuna had tossed the grenades onto his own property for publicity purposes.

We urge people to write polite letters expressing concern and requesting the Sri Lankan authorities to protect innocent people from arbitrary arrests and unlawful attacks and to halt the political-oppression campaign against human-rights defenders. Such letters should be addressed to: President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Presidential Secretariat, Colombo 1, Sri Lanka.

No just society with a proper judicial system should allow civilians to be black-listed by the authorities without valid evidence. The great anti-corruption efforts by Weliamuna and his organization should be appreciated, not discouraged.

Continued, consistent harassment of human-rights defenders raises worries about the Rajapaksa government’s goals and ability to lead Sri Lanka to recovery from its long civil war.

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