SOUTH ASIA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

2334most of whom were innocent of any wrongdoing, sometimes were detained in prisonswith convicted criminals. Many lesser incidents of this sort occurred during theyear. Tamils complained that they were abused verbally and held for extended periodsat the security checkpoints that have been set up throughout Colombo (see Section1.d.). The Government justified the detentions and arrests on security grounds,but many Tamils claimed that the detentions and arrests were a form ofharrassment. Tamils often suffered arbitrary searches in their homes.In February the Government ordered the arrest of an engineer employed by alocal Internet provider under the provisions of the PTA as part of its attempt to stiflecompetition with the state-owned telecommunications monopoly. The Governmentalleged that the company involved in a fundraising scheme to benefit theLTTE. Under international pressure, the Government dropped the charges againstthe engineer and released him in August; however, investigations of the companycontinued at year’s end.In July 1998, the President established the Committee to Inquire into Undue Arrestand Harassment (CIUAH). The committee, which includes senior oppositionparty and Tamil representatives, examines complaints of arrest and harassment bysecurity forces and takes remedial action as needed. The committee received morethan 200 complaints between January and August 31. Opinions on the effectivenessof the CIUAH are mixed. Some human rights observers believe that the work of thecommittee acted as a deterrent to random arrests and helped to alleviate some ofthe problems encountered by detainees and their families. However, some criticsclaim that, following initial publicity, the committee’s services have not been advertisedwidely. For example, the fax number for the committee is not in the Colombotelephone directory. Those wishing to contact the CIUAH usually are referredthrough human rights lawyers or find it by word of mouth. Many Tamils believethat the CIUAH does little to deter police agents from stopping them more frequentlyat security force checkpoints in the capital.The HRC continued to investigate the legality of detention in cases referred to itby the Supreme Court and private citizens. Although the HRC legally is mandatedto exercise oversight over arrests and detentions by the security forces and to undertakevisits to prisons, members of the security forces sometimes violated the regulationsand failed to cooperate with the HRC.The Government continued to give the ICRC unhindered access to approximately160 detention centers, police stations, and army camps throughout the country thatwere recognized officially as places of detention. Such visits played an importantrole in enabling the ICRC to monitor the human rights practices of the securityforces. The HRC, through its 11 offices, also visited places of detention; however,human rights observers believed that due to inadequate leadership and a failure ofthe HRC to give long term contracts to many of its workers, the organization wasnot pursuing its mandate (see Section 4).The PLOTE continued to run places of illegal detention in Vavuniya. The EPDPalso detained members for short periods in Jaffna as punishment for breaking partydiscipline.The LTTE continued to detain civilians, often holding them for ransom. For example,in September 1999 the LTTE held three businessmen for a ransom of $550,000(40 million rupees). The businessmen were freed after making partial payment andpromising to pay the balance. Unconfirmed reports indicated the LTTE was holdingin custody more than 2,000 civilians in the northern part of the island. Those heldincluded 11 civilian crew members of 3 vessels hijacked by the LTTE since 1995.In February the LTTE released 4 of the 15 servicemen that it held. In June it alsoreleased 1 of its 12 declared civilians prisoners. The LTTE did not permit the ICRCor any other humanitarian organization to visit its detainees, aside from these crewmembers and security force personnel.The Government does not practice forced exile. There are no legal provisions allowingor prohibiting its use.e. Denial of Fair Public Trial.—The Constitution provides for an independent judiciary,and the Government respects these provisions in practice.The President appoints judges to the Supreme Court, the courts of appeal, andthe high courts. A judicial service commission, composed of the Chief Justice andtwo Supreme Court judges, appoints, transfers, and dismisses lower court judges.Judges serve until the mandatory retirement age of 65 for the Supreme Court and62 for other courts. Judges can be removed for reasons of misbehavior or physicalor mental incapacity, but only after a legal investigation and followed by joint actionof the President and the Parliament.In criminal cases, defendants are tried in public by juries. They are informed ofthe charges and evidence against them, may be represented by the counsel of theirchoice, and have the right to appeal. The Government provides counsel for indigentVerDate 11-MAY-2000 13:46 Sep 20, 2001 Jkt 071555 PO 00000 Frm 00178 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\COUNTRYR\S71555\71555.036 HINTREL1 PsN: HINTREL1