Govt attempts to stifle Raviraj funeral processions
November 16th, 2006
[TransCurrents NewsFeatures]
Deatails are now becoming public of how the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and its agents tried to suppress, stifle and sabotage funeral processions in Jaffna and Colombo of assassinated Jaffna district Parliamentarian Nadarajah Raviraj.
In Jaffna all participants in the funeral procession were video filmed by Sri Lankan security force soldiers as well as Tamil paramilitary operatives wearing black masks.
The sight of these men filming the procession had intimidated a lot of people into exiting from the procession through fear.
It has been the practice in recent times for security personnel and Tamil paramilitaries to target persons suspected of being supporters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Videos were taken of pro – tiger demonstrations and public rallies like “Pongu Thamil” (Tamil Upsurge) and “maaveerar Naal” (Great Heroes Day)by the security apparatus. People seen at the forefront of these demonstrations and meetings were then identified from the videos and traced. Subsequently a large number of such people were killed or abducted.
It was against this backdrop that people got jittery when the funeral procession of Nadarajah Raviraj was videoed by security and paramilitary personnel in Jaffna.
In another flagrant threat to media freedom Security personnel in Chavakachcheri also detained media persons covering Raviraj’s funeral and interrogated them for 90 minutes at the army camp in Chavakachcheri town. Representatives from the English, Sinhala and Tamil media were threatened by security personnel not to give publicity about the funeral in their respective media organs.
Information has also become available about how the Govt and Police tried to prevent the funeral procession paying homage to Raviraj from being held in Colombo.
After failing to prevent the procession the authorities deployed a massive contingent of security personnel along the procession route for the ostensible reason of giving protection.
As a result of this massive intimidatory show of force people were reluctant to participate, Security personnel also turned away many people wanting to participate in the procession. Several buses carrying would be participants were not allowed to proceed.
As a result of these activities the participants in the procession numbered only around 4000 instead of the expected 20,000 figure.
Meanwhile “The Morning Leader” has published vivid details of what transpired between authorities and the people who involved in organizing funeral and procession arrangements.
Relevant paragraphs are excerpted here from the “State of the Nation” column writen by Sonali Samarasinghe in the “Morning Leader”.
” On Friday (10) following the assassination of Nadarajah Raviraj, TNA MP Mavai Senathirajah was to speak to President Mahinda Rajapakse and make an urgent appeal. ‘Allow us to take the body through the A9 to cremate the body in Chavakachcheri as that was Raviraj’s final request,’ Senathirajah said.
Rajapakse told him he would consult the military and revert but there was a fear that if the A9 was opened the LTTE would strike. Senathirajah told the President that they could get the LTTE to give an assurance that they would not attack. Subsequently TNA Leader R. Sampanthan also spoke to the President about the same matter.
On Saturday (11) Foreign Minister Mangala Samar-aweera was to pay his last respects at the A. F. Raymond’s Parlour in Colombo 8. Again TNA MPs and friends of Raviraj prevailed upon Samaraweera to allow the remains of the slain parliamentarian to be taken by road on the A9. Samaraweera promised to speak to President Rajapakse about it.
It was also on Saturday that the TNA requested authorities to allow the funeral procession to proceed from the funeral parlour in Borella to the Town Hall as Raviraj himself had one time been a mayor of Jaffna.
By this time government Defence Spokesperson Keheliya Rambukwella had offered to airlift the body and relatives of Raviraj in an airforce aircraft. However family and friends felt that this would be restrictive and would prevent the large numbers who wanted to genuinely attend the funeral.
Meanwhile Kumar Rupesinghe of the Foundation for Co- Existence, UNP MP Rajitha Senaratne and Dr. Nimalka Fernando of the Women’s Alliance for Peace and Democracy and others met to plan a demonstration and a hartal against the brutal murder and the prevalent culture of violence.
The group accordingly met DIG Colombo Range Pujith Jayasundera and DIG Range IV, N.K. Illangakoon to discuss the modalities of the peaceful demonstration.
On Sunday the National Anti War Front at a media briefing announced their intentions to take to the streets in a mass protest rally and accompany the body from the Raymond’s Funeral Parlour in Borella upto Town Hall. Nimalka Fernando at the briefing blamed the government for the assassination, pointing out that the killing took place in a high security area.
On the same day Keheliya Rambukwella was to call Sampanthan and again tell him not to have a funeral procession going to Town Hall. Rambukwella said that such a procession would be disrespectful to Raviraj. At this point Sampanthan angrily retorted that on the contrary, this was being done by the Sinhalese to respect Raviraj.
Later, President Mahinda Rajapakse spoke to Kumar Rupesinghe and told him, ‘look you have every right to have a procession but they are trying to blame me for the assassination.’
Rupesinghe in response was to say that eventually as the Executive President the responsibility lay with him.
Rajapakse then said, it would be provocative for them to have the body and speeches made over the body. You can have the speeches without the body, the President was to say.
Rupesinghe however was not about to heed the President’s wishes but the wishes of the family of slain MP N.Raviraj. And he told Rajapakse as much. ‘I will go ahead and have the demonstration and the speeches with the body of the slain MP, as long as the family has no objection.’
On Monday (13) morning when Kumar Rupesinghe arrived at the Raymond’s Parlour DIG Illangakoon had also been present. Illangakoon had then informed Rupesinghe that the procession should not be held and the demonstration and hartal should be stopped.
Illangakoon continued, “we have information that two vehicles without number plates are coming to Colombo from Kilinochchi and the JVP are also having a procession.”
The DIG then asked Rupesinghe to stop his procession as it could create trouble and disturb the peace.
Rupesinghe shot back, “but have you asked the JVP to stop their procession?” and Illangakoon replied in the negative. At which point Rupesinghe said, ‘then we are going to have it as well. We are expecting about 20,000 people to participate and we are doing it as a mark of respect for Raviraj.’
Rupesinghe then informed Illangakoon that even as various shops had been voluntarily putting up shutters in and around Pettah as part of the protest, police had forcibly tried to make the shop owners open up and asked them as to why they were doing these things.
Rupesinghe also informed Illangakoon that two vehicles coming to Colombo from Puttalam had been stopped by the police and sent back.
By Monday however rumours were being spread by interested parties that the demonstration had been banned in an attempt to whittle down participation with even some sections of government media reportedly carrying bulletins to this effect.
With Rajapakse steadily losing political ground and taking a severe international beating it would therefore no longer suffice for the President to merely meet with members of the JVP, UNP and JHU for regular chats.
Chatting in the comfort of Temple Trees and agreeing to all sorts of impossible impracticalities will not solve the problem. If there is one thing the President has been fighting shy of since he took up the post a year ago , it is making a firm decision on any matter.
Sri Lanka has become more than a failed state. It has become a shamed state. Rajapakse if he has achieved anything in his one year as President he has achieved only this. The nation has been reduced to the worst days of the beeshanaya era of the late ’80s. Sadly some sections of society far from learning from its mistakes of the ’80s have continued to look on and applaud this madness.
This week Rajapakse is at the cross roads, he can no longer duck the human rights issues with the international eye so keenly upon him.
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