The Hon. Sivagnanam Shritharan

¶ 01 Thank you. Hon. Deputy Chairperson, today’s motion addresses a great injustice: the removal of IGP Deshbandu Tennakoon, connected to torture and crimes against humanity. We understand this relates to the people’s suffering and pain. We will vote in favour. As a people who have endured such sufferings, and continue to face militarized oppression in this country, we strongly support ending police brutality. Law must be equal for all—Tamils, Sinhalese, Muslims, Burghers—everyone must be equal before the law. There must be judicial independence and genuine rule of law; Parliament must speak justice to the people. Deshbandu Tennakoon’s conduct and the atrocities of torture centres must be judged.

¶ 02 Tamils have suffered the most. In 1998, the CSU arrested me in Vavuniya. I was detained for 26 days at the Vavuniya Police Station and tortured by the police. After 26 days, I was produced before court and released, found to have committed no crime. I was one among many victimized, particularly by the TID under the PTA. After the PTA came into force, we lost many people—over 60,000 fighters from our soil. That law was the cause of many deaths, and police abused powers under it. Hence, this motion against Deshbandu is correct.

¶ 03 Not only Deshbandu—many IGPs and officers in this country behaved far worse. There is evidence: the Chemmani mass graves—155 skeletons found so far. I visited Chemmani on Friday. Scans have been conducted over the Ariyalai Siththuppatti Hindu cremation ground and adjacent lands; there are reports of more human remains. Who were the killers? Who did this? You bring a motion against Deshbandu, yet you are not ready to bring justice to the Tamil victims. Even when we ask for international oversight, the Government remains unclear.

¶ 04 Day before yesterday, the Virakesari newspaper reported: “Somaratna Rajapakshe, principal convict in the Krishanthi Kumaraswamy murder case, ready to testify in an international inquiry; letter to the President by his wife, Thayaru Kumaraswamy.” I submit those pages to the Chair, and a copy of the six-page Sinhala letter to the President by S.C. Wijewikrama, wife of Lance Corporal Somaratna Rajapakshe. Please include it in the Hansard if possible.

¶ 05 She says her husband is being punished unlawfully; therefore, an international inquiry on Chemmani should be held, and he is prepared to testify. Not only against Deshbandu—there must be justice regarding the genocide against Tamils and the ongoing structural genocide. Facilitate Somaratna Rajapakshe to testify internationally on Chemmani; let the truth emerge and provide justice even to the Sinhalese people. I stress this today: please arrange for it.