URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY
LKA 001 / 0109 / OBS 006
Assassination
Sri Lanka
January 15, 2009
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Sri Lanka.
Brief description of the situation:
The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the assassination of Mr. Lasantha Wickrematunge, founder and Chief Editor of the Sunday Leader newspaper as well as a lawyer who was a vocal critic of corruption and abuse of authority in Sri Lanka as well as of the Government policies relating to the conflict.
According to the information received, on January 8, 2009, at approximately 10.45 am, Mr. Lasantha Wickrematunge was driving to work when he was shot by four unidentified gunmen riding motorcycles on the Attidiya Road, Ratmalana, Colombo, which is close to Ratmalana military base. He was rushed to the Kalubowila Teaching Hospital with serious head injuries, where he died at approximately 2.10 pm.
In the past, Mr. Lasantha Wickrematunge had been several times the target of intimidation attempts and lawsuits due to his investigative reporting on corruption and nepotism in the Sri Lankan Government and in society in general, and the impunity that accompanies them. Mr. Wickrematunge was also a critic of the war and advocated a negotiated political solution to the conflict.
The Observatory fears that Mr. Lasantha Wickrematunge's assassination is directly related to his activities as editor of the Sunday Leader and his vocal criticism of Government's policies relating to the conflict in Sri Lanka.
The Observatory expresses its deep concern about Mr. Lasantha Wickrematunge's assassination, which illustrates once more the situation of extreme insecurity faced by human rights defenders in Sri Lanka, and urges the Sri Lankan authorities to order an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into his assassination, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before a competent and impartial tribunal and apply to them the penal sanctions provided by the law.
Actions requested:
Please write to the authorities of Sri Lanka asking them to:
i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of all Sri Lankan human rights defenders;
ii. Order a thorough and impartial investigation into the killing of Mr. Lasantha Wickrematunge, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before a civil competent and impartial tribunal and apply to them the penal sanctions provided by the law;
iii. Put an end to all acts of harassment against all human rights defenders and humanitarian workers in Sri Lanka;
iv. Conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, especially its Article 1, which states that "everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels", and Article 12.2, which provides that "the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration";
v. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.
Addresses:
・ President Mahinda Rajapakse, Presidential Secretariat, Colombo 1, Sri Lanka, Fax: + 94 11 2446657 / +94 11 2472100 / +94 11 2430 590
・ Mr. Amarasiri Dodangoda, Minister, Ministry of Justice and Law Reforms, Superior Courts Complex, Colombo 12, Sri Lanka. Fax : (94) 1 2320785. Email: justiceminist@sltnet.lk
・ Mr. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Public Security, Law and Order, 15/5 Baladaksha Mawatha, Colombo 3, Sri Lanka, Fax: +94 11 2446 300 / +94 11 2541 529. Email: gotabaya@defence.lk
・ National Police Commission, 3rd Floor, Rotunda Towers, 109 Galle Road, Colombo 03, Sri Lanka, Fax: +94 11 2 395867 / +94 11-2395866. E-mail: npcgen@sltnet.lk / polcom@sltnet.lk
・ Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, No. 36, Kynsey Road, Colombo 8, Sri Lanka. Tel: +94 11 2 694 925 / 673 806. Fax: +94 11 2 694 924 / 696 470. E-mail: sechrc@sltnet.lk
・ His Excellency Mr. Dayan Jayatilleka, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in Sri Lanka, 56 rue De Moillebeau, 5th Floor, 12119 Geneva 19, Switzerland, Fax: + 41-22 734 90 84, E-mail: mission.srilanka@ties.itu.int
***
Geneva - Paris, January 15, 2009
