TRO Aid Workers Abductions - 1 Year On  (29 & 30 January 2006)

The TRO family wishes to express its sadness and deepest sympathies to the families of the TRO humanitarian aid workers who were abducted 29 & 30 January 2006 in the Government controlled Polonnaruwa District by armed paramilitary personnel. The 6 (six) men and one woman remain “disappeared” one year later.

29 January 2006 abductions:
Mr. KASINATHAR GANESHALINGAM
Mr. THANGARASA KATHIRKAMAR

30 January 2006 abductions:
Mr. SUJENDRAN SHANMUGANATHAN
Mr. SATHEESKARAN ARULNESARASA
Mr. RAVINDRAN KAILAYAPILLAI
Ms. PREMINI THANUSHKODI
Mr. VASANTHARAJAN THAMIRAJA

One year has passed since the abductions of the TRO humanitarian aid workers on the 29 & 30 January 2006. To date the Sri Lanka Police have yet to conduct any meaningful investigation or inquiry into these disappearances. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka investigated this case and made a report to its head that has never been released. The atmosphere of impunity has lead to a steady decline in the status of human rights on the island.

Neither TRO nor any of the families have to date received any reports or response from any investigating authorities despite several persistent inquiries. There have not been any arrests or convictions in this case.

As the President of Sri Lanka and the donor countries meet in Galle on the same days a year later, 29 & 30 January 2007, the fate of these humanitarian aid workers remains unknown. As Sri Lanka seeks further funds for “development” the government continues to pursue military offensives in the NorthEast.

The abduction of the TRO aid workers was the first in a series of attacks on local and international NGOs and their staff.  The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) has, by design, made it very difficult for international NGOs, the UN and ICRC to work in the NorthEast with the tsunami and war affected populations.

The GoSL has sought to isolate the NorthEast from any humanitarian assistance by:
Denying international NGOs access to the LTTE controlled areas of the NorthEast
Limiting access for the UN and ICRC to these same areas
Instituting a controversial “permit” process for international staff wishing to work in the NorthEast that is designed to banish iNGOs from the area in order to remove the “international impartial witness” to the GoSL atrocities
Executing 17 ACF aid workers in Muttur, allegedly by SL Army troops according to the independent Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM)
Fostering and encouraging a general negative attitude towards and treatment of NGO staff and organizations
Freezing US$ 800,000 of TRO Tsunami Project Funds in Sri Lankan banks
In addition to not thoroughly investigating the abduction of the TRO aid workers the GoSL has also not listed their case among the 15 cases that the President’s Commission of Inquiry will investigate.

TRO urges the GoSL to:

Fully investigate and bring to justice the perpetrators of this atrocious crime
Ensure the safety of local and international humanitarian workers
Allow unimpeded access to the war and tsunami affected persons in need of assistance
Ensure that all attacks on civilians, abductions, and other human rights abuses stop immediately
Ensure that the NorthEast receives it’s “just due” of tsunami and development funds.