STF suspects in Trinco youth murder to be released
May 3rd, 2006
by D.B.S. Jeyaraj
In what appears “prima facie” to be a flagrant travesty of justice all Police Special task force members,detained as suspects in the murder of five innocent Tamil youths in Trincomalee on Jan 2nd this year, are to be released next week. Eleven STF members and two Policemen were arrested as suspects in the incident that occurred at the Dutch Bay beach near the old Gandhi statue roundabout.
Five youths Shanmugarajah Gajendran, Logitharajah Rohan,Thangathurai Sivanantha, Yogarajah Hemachchandra and Manoharan Rajihar were killed while two others were injured in the incident that took place on Dock Yard Road Trincomalee about 7.30 p.m. on that day.
The STF men were arrested in the aftermath of intense pressure being brought upon President Mahinda Rajapakse after it was proved that the killings were done by sections of the armed forces in Trincomalee.
It was then announced in the media that thirteen suspects were arrested and were being interrogated. It is learnt reliably that the 13 suspects were treated well during detention and not subjected in any way to severe interrogation at all. They were also given perks and facilities not given usually to murder suspects being detained and grilled.
It is now learnt reliably that all STF men are to be released on the grounds that the bullets found on the bodies of the dead youths were not fired from the authorised firearms in the possession of arrested STF men. All 11 suspects were from the same STF platoon.
The Government Analyst’s Department has concluded in a related report that none of the bullets found in the bodies of the victims had been fired by the guns issued to them.
Sample bullets fired by the guns issued to the platoon had been examined by the department analysts for similarities with those found in the victims.Consequently investigations had revealed that none of the bullets found in the bodies were similar to the bullets fired from the guns inspected by them.
It is learnt that the STF men are going to be released on the basis of this Government Analyst Dept report. The two Policemen will be released after the STF men are out.
Very little information is available about the progress of investigations into the incident. President Mahinda Rajapakse informed a Tamil National Alliance delegation that it had been done by pro – UNP elements within the armed forces to discredit him He also assured them that a full investigation would be made and the culprits punished.
There were media reports later that Thirteen suspects including eleven STF personnel and two regular Policemen were being detained and interrogated over the incident. There was no report of high ranking men like a SP or IP being quizzed or detained. Thereafter no reports have been forthcoming about the progress of the investigations. The TNA too has not followed up on the incident.
No action has been taken so far against the ex – DIG Police and current Defence ministry adviser HMGP Kotakadeniya who according to media reports authorised the sending of a STF Contingent into Trincomalee with instructions to “be tough”.
Kotakadeniya who is also a senior vice – president of the Sinhala Buddhist ultra- nationalist Jathika Hela Urumaya has brazenly admitted to this action . He has gone on record that the act was done with the full knowledge of Defence Secretary Gothabaya Rajapakse the brother of President Mahinda.
This has not been refuted and it was business as usual with Kotakadeniya who has been hyper active after the suicide bomber attack on the Army commander’s life.
The University Teachers for Human Rights (Jaffna) in special report No 20 titled ” Terrorism, Counterterrorism and Challenges to Human Rights Advocacy” released on April 2nd specifically alleged that the STF was involved in the attack and also referred to two Police officials by name.
The UTHR(J) states that this information was from sources within the security forces and said as follows -
” Based on information from within the security forces, our sources have identified Kapila Jayesekara, Superintendent of Police, Trincomalee, as having planned the outrage. Jayasekera, we learn, was earlier with the STF in Amparai, and was there during the Kanjirankuda incident in October 2002, when 7civilians were killed by STF fire (Bulletin No.29). Our contacts said that the recent executions by the STF in Trincomalee were carried out by Inspector of Police Perera.”
“Our contacts believe the STF men were inside the trishaw from which the bomb was thrown, and which subsequently went in the direction of Fort Frederick where the STF men are said to have been quartered. The police truck in which they came to commit the crime had been parked in the old police station near the post office, quite close to where the youths were killed.”
“The role of the Police at a high level is also indicated by the fact that even after the magistrate released the bodies to the parents, the Police unit at the hospital tried to prevent them, demanding that they sign a false declaration stating that their sons were Tigers. Policemen are simple persons taught to do a straightforward routine job. When they play up and do something utterly stupid, it means that they have received unprofessional orders from the top and are lost.”
“What the incident amply reveals is that Sinhalese chauvinism is very much alive within the state apparatus and there is little political will to change that. Once more we are confronted by the fact that despite hopes raised in the mid-1990s, there has been no qualitative change in the security forces. If President Rajapakse were serious about peace with dignity, a number of security officials ought to have been interdicted pending the conclusion of an inquiry. As it stands the scandal stinks to
high heaven.”
Though the Sri Lankan media and other commentators refer to the UTHR (J) reports in glowing terms whenever criticism of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam is mentioned in them no response was forthcoming when the STF was singled out in this instance.
Against this backdrop of events the STF men being let off the hook does not come as a surprise. With Kotakadeniya, Gothabhaya Rajapakse, Kapila Jayasekera and others of their ilk being allegedly implicated at various levels in the incident the release of STF personnel suspects was to be expected.
The incident also revives memories of another incident concerning the STF in 1995. More than 20 corpses of Tamil youths were found in waterways and sstreams in Colombo and suburbs in mid 1995 after war erupted in April during Chandrika Kumaratunga’s presidency.
Kumaratunga under pressure from the TULF ordered an inquiry. Several members of the STF and military intelligence were arrested as suspects. These included STF commandant Lionel Karunasena and Military intelligence official Richard Dias alias Capt. Munas. It was also alleged that some of the killings were done at the STF headquarters in bullers road.
Pressure however was exerted on Kumaratunga and the arrested persons were gradually let off the hook. The Attorney – General’s dept did not attend court whenever the case was taken up. The suspects were first given bail and then re-instated in their posts. Finally the case was thrown out due to AG officials being continuously absent in court.
If that was how the STF suspects were release then now they are to be released without even being brought to court. The five innocent Trincomalee youth victims will not get justice.
In a disturbing related development the family of one murdered youth has complained of sustained harassment in what is regarded as being an attempt to intimidate them. Dr and Dr. Mrs. Manoharan the parents of Rajihar a youth killed on Jan 2nd have written letters to President Rajapakse, the Attorney – General, the Human rights Commission and also the UN special rapporteur on Extra – judicial , summary and arbitrary executions.
The Manoharans have said that their family is being continuously subjected to intimidatory pressure from “unknown” elements and desperately appealed for protection and an end to this harassment.
According to sources close to the family members of the armed forces, Police and alternative armed Tamil groups are responsible for the intimidatory harassment. Some of the intimidatory tactics are as follow -
Stones are thrown on the roof, the door is often banged at midnight, helmeted Tamil youths on motor cycles visit the medical clinic and make threatening remarks, threatening calls by telephone are made regularly, visitors to the house are warned not to go there again, the helper who bought provisions for the family was intimidated, the younger brothers going to school are regularly harassed by Policemen etc.
The Manoharans were the most educated of all the parents of the youth victims. They are suspected of being the “inspiration” providing strength to the others in pressing for justice. It is believed that the intimidation is partly revenge for their suspected past role and partly a tactic to terrify them into silence in the future if and when further inquiries are made.
Related: Terrible truth of the Trincomalee tragedy
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Contact DBS Jeyaraj : djeyaraj2005@yahoo.com
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