Emergency raises spectre of past disappearances - Adaikalanathan

[TamilNet, Saturday, 20 August 2005, 23:36 GMT]
"The reimposition of Emergency Regulations has raised the spectre of past disappearances, indiscriminate arrests, torture under custody and the impunity enjoyed by the Sri Lanka security forces for human rights violations against the Tamil people," said Selvam Adaikalanathan, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian for Vanni district, when TamilNet asked for his reaction to the adoption by Sri Lanka's parliament Thursday of the motion to extend the State of Emergency.

"When other prominent Tamils who supported Tamil people's right to self-determination, such as Mr. Sivaram Dharmaretnam, were killed, the Government of Sri Lanka did not see it fit to reintroduce Emergency Regulations. However, the same Government has hurriedly imposed the draconian emergency in the wake of the murder of Mr. Kadirgamar," the Vanni district parliamentarian said.

Mr. Adaikalanathan further said: "In the period after the tsunami, the international community had been perturbed by the inaction of the Sri Lanka Government and the opposition from the South to the flow of aid to the humanitarian crisis in the NorthEast. The abrogation of the Joint Mechanism with assistance from the Supreme Court further appeared to have helped the International Community to understand the hurdles faced by the Tamils in their fight for a just solution to the Tamil National question."

He added that the imposition of Emergency is a component of the South's "concerted attempt" at an international campaign to accuse the Liberation Tigers for the increase in violence in recent months.

"However, I am convinced that the Government's efforts will backfire," added Mr. Adaikalanathan.

The international community is likely to insist that for the CeaseFire Agreement (CFA) to survive, both parties should show commitment to work towards a peaceful solution, the TNA MP said.

"And that entails that the Sri Lankan Government stops supporting the paramilitaries in the east," he said.