The abduction hypocrisy

Dushy RANETUNGE

ALLEGATIONS: There have been serious allegations levelled against the Government about abductions in Sri Lanka, yet Sri Lanka’s main Opposition UNP has somewhat been quiet about the issue, until now.

The reasons for this may be rooted in its own history of abductions while it was in power. In the late 1980’s abductions was a tool used by the Security Forces to deal with a violent Sinhalese national-socialist terrorist uprising organised by the JVP.

Chile style abductions were common in Sri Lanka at the time and astonishingly accepted by the Sri Lankan establishment as a necessary evil as long as it was not a member of the establishment who was being abducted.

The insurrection was ruthlessly crushed by the then UNP Government and JVP leader Rohana Wijeweera was executed by the Security Forces under the orders of the then Minister of National Security Ranjan Wijeratna who was later assassinated by an LTTE roadside bomb.

A recent attempt by the Leader of the Opposition Ranil Wickremesinghe to raise the abductions issue has resulted in a scathing attack by the JVP, which pointed out that the UNPs’ are those who championed abductions.

Recently, abductions have been back in Sri Lanka and it’s once more being condoned by the Sri Lankan establishment as a necessary evil to deal with the greater demon of terrorism.

In the late 1980’s, the establishment presumed that those disappearing after abductions were Sinhalese terrorists of the JVP and today they are presuming that those who are being abducted and disappearing are Tamil terrorists of the LTTE.

That innocent persons may be getting abducted for ransom or to settle political and other scores is a thought to be considered by the establishment.

This constituency that is silently condoning abductions is not restricted to Sri Lanka alone. Western powers are equally guilty.

In the West too those who are presumed to be terrorists are being abducted and flown in secret via US air bases in Europe to third countries such as Ukraine or Gautanomo Bay to be “processed”. This is known as “rendition”. Rendition is in effect torture by proxy.

Like white van abductions, rendition has been an issue of great concern among human rights activists and some legislators in the West.

Last week, saw the release of an abducted Iranian diplomat in Iraq. There are accusations that a prisoner swap is about to take place, to secure the release of the British seamen who detained in Iran for violating its territorial waters.

Iranian agents suspected of helping the Shia insurgents in Iraq have been facing abduction recently, allegedly by those aligned to Britain and the United States. The arrest of the British seamen by Iran is seen as Iran settling the score.

The late General Pinochet’s regime in Chile was the worlds most famous to use abductions as a tool to crush insurrection. While human rights activists abhor this regime, those in the security establishments’ worldwide study these methods as being an effective counter terrorist tool.

When the General was detained in Britain by a British court investigating human rights abuses, even ex British Premier Margaret Thatcher saw it fit to visit him and declared the General a “friend” of Britain.

Relatives of those abducted and disappeared under the Generals regime protested outside.