Academics seek global pressure on LTTE

Manjula Fernando

COLOMBO: Intellectuals for Human Rights (IHR), a group of university and school academics called upon the international community yesterday to exert pressure on the LTTE to stop gross violations of human rights and intimidation of free thinking academics.

Hosting their first press conference at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute, the human rights group cited the case concerning Prof. Ratnajeewan Hoole, recently designated Vice Chancellor to the Jaffna University who had to flee the country following LTTE threats.

This was a clear cut case of the LTTE's atrocities against the intellectual community who choose an independent path, IHR said.

Prof. Hoole left the country with his family following a concerted campaign of coercion by LTTE backed student groups to prevent him from functioning as the Vice Chancellor.

"We know it was orchestrated by the LTTE through other elements trumpeting the LTTE agenda," Senior Lecturer at Moratuwa University Dr. Kapila Perera who is the IHR's Secretary for Civil and Political Rights said.

He voiced that the international community must also help in bringing the LTTE, which backed away from the peace talks giving meagre excuses, back to the negotiating table.

They stressed that human rights and freedom of speech should be in the forefront at the next round of talks.

Condemning the killings of ordinary civilians including the recent incident in Kayts, the human rights group said they were willing to go before the international community starting from the Co-Chairs to seek their support in compelling all parties concerned to refrain from unleashing violence on innocent civilians.

The group also raised concerns that the increasing tension in the North and East will have grave consequences on the free thinking intellectuals who choose to work independently and portray different views than that of the LTTE.

"LTTE has curtailed free speech and the rights to air different opinions be it political, social and cultural. With the increasingly deteriorating security we fear that they will be further harassed."

"Our next step is to meet the Co-Chairs and the Japanese Special envoy Yasushi Akashi to present our case," Raja Gooneratne, Human Rights lawyer from the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL), said.

He said Sri Lanka as a country has its own set of human rights inscribed in the Constitution apart from international conventions which we are party to, such as the Geneva Protocol 2.

"Any organisation is as responsible as the Government to uphold these norms," Gooneratne stressed adding that all parties must ensure rights of children, women and unarmed civilians during a conflict or otherwise.

The IHR has already written to the Amnesty International regarding Prof. Hoole's case.

Prof. R.A. Attalage of the Moratuwa University, who is the General Secretary of the IHR and Secretary, Social and Political Rights Dr. N.G.A. Karunatilleke of Kelaniya University also spoke.