Dear Readers,
Acid attacks on women and children (or anyone else for that matter), is an issue that I have been following and reporting on for several years now. It is impossible for anyone who has not suffered such horror to imagine what the victim goes through in terms of pain and trauma; the knowledge that even if you survive, your life as you know it has ceased to exist and you are left only with a scarred face and body; and the memory of the attack.
The Women's UN Report Network has produced a PowerPoint presentation on the issue and I was asked to prepare a Press Release for the Asian Human Rights Commission to announce. The reason that I am including it here is that fact that it has been picked up by international news agencies and has received wide publicity.
The Press Release follows. If the links do not work please block and copy them into your browser.
Thank you,
Stewart.
ASIA: WUNRN Presentation on acid attacks
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
AHRC-PRL-020-2010
ASIA: WUNRN Presentation on acid attacks
(Hong Kong, September 28, 2010) Acid attacks occur with frightening regularity in many countries of Asia. Whether they are done out of revenge, religious intolerance or simply pure malice, the horror perpetrated on the victim is inhuman. It is an issue that the AHRC has reported on frequently.
The Women's UN Report Network -- WUNRN has produced a presentation to provide information on this form of abuse against women and children.
"Acid violence drastically changes the life of the victim including education, employment and other aspects of normal life. Survivors often have to face social isolation that further damages their self-esteem and confidence and undermines their professional and personal future".
From the introduction found in the Presentation
The presentation may be seen at: http://www.wunrn.com/powerpoint/aa_10.pps
Further information may be seen in many of the articles published in Human Rights & Culture at: http://hrculture.blog.humanrights.asia/
# # #
About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.
Posted on 2010-09-28
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Hand grenades, arrogance and gullibility
"The arrogance of the Sri Lankan police never ceases to amaze me. They come up with these stories almost every month and because the rule of law situation in Sri Lanka has deteriorated to the point where there is no command responsibility they get away with it. From the Inspector General of Police all the way down to the Police Constable on the street, there is no accountability."
by Stewart Sloan
(The opinions expressed at the author's own)
(September 24, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka Guardian) It is an almost weekly occurrence now that the Sri Lankan police report the shooting to death in custody of a criminal when he attempted to throw a hand grenade at the officers. I am not sure what annoys me more, the incredibly poor standard of policing in the country or the fact that the Sri Lankan police think that we are all idiots.
NEWS: UNDERWORLD LEADER KILLED IN POLICE FIRE
September 22, 2010: Dematagoda Kamal, said to be a leader in the underworld, died in police fire at Diddeniya in Hanwella last night.
According to police, the suspect had been arrested last evening in the Diddeniya area in Hanwella along with a pistol and ammunition.
A high-ranking police officer said that when the suspect was taken to the Diddeniya area to locate a firearm and a haul of drugs, he had attempted to lob a hand grenade at them forcing police to open fire..........
- From an article published in Newsfirst.lk on the 23 September)
Let us take the typical scenario (two of which occurred within the last few weeks). A criminal is arrested for whatever reason and the police take him to a weapons cache. During the proceedings the criminal, no doubt a heinous and dangerous person, grabs a hand grenade and attempts to throw it at the officers; as a result of this cowardly act they bravely shoot him dead. The only witnesses to the incident are the police officers themselves so there is no one of an independent nature to corroborate their version of the events.
But, please, let us take a close and serious look at this scenario.
Any suspect, whether a known criminal or not, when being transported outside a police station should be securely handcuffed and closely guarded. This is not just for the protection of the police officers but also the suspect himself. Under Sri Lankan law as well as international law, a suspect is innocent until proven guilty. It does not require 15 years of experience in policing to know this. It is simply common sense. Any suspect must be considered dangerous until proven otherwise and it is recognised procedure to ensure the safety of the accompanying officers and the suspect himself at all times. Yet amazingly, all these suspects that are taken to a weapons cache to show it to the officers are able to grab hold of a grenade which they then attempt to throw at the officers. This raises several questions.
Anyone who has ever seen a war film will know that grenades are indiscriminate killers. They explode. They throw out shrapnel in all directions, killing the targets and, in close quarters, the person who threw it as well. So, the obvious question is, why would anyone throw a grenade in the knowledge that it is going to kill them as well as their intended targets. I suppose it is feasible that one out of every five criminals might be suicidal and uncaring as to whether they live or die, but all of them?
If the suspects have been keeping a cache of weapons for any length of time they would be in the position to know exactly what was there other than the grenades, perhaps a pistol, a T56 or some other weapon more suitable to killing or wounding the people around you without killing yourself at the same time. Why then do the suspects always opt for the grenade?
And then of course there is the obvious question: where do all these grenades come from in the first place? Is the Sri Lankan army so lax with its ordnance that it habitually looses the odd dozen grenades? If that is the case then the Secretary of the Ministry of Defense has a lot to answer for. And when these grenades do go missing what action is taken? Is anyone held responsible? There must be a tremendously profitable black market for these weapons if the street level criminals can get hold of them.
The arrogance of the Sri Lankan police never ceases to amaze me. They come up with these stories almost every month and because the rule of law situation in Sri Lanka has deteriorated to the point where there is no command responsibility they get away with it. From the Inspector General of Police all the way down to the Police Constable on the street, there is no accountability.
It is time for the people of Sri Lanka to say enough. It is time for the Magistrates to question the continuing incidence of the extrajudicial killing of suspects (against one of whom just recently there was no arrest warrant and no record of arrest. The first information that the Magistrate had that the fellow had been arrested in the first place was when the police officers told the court that they had killed him because he had tried to throw a bomb at them). The police know full well that without any independent witnesses the Magistrate has no option but to accept their version of the story. But when the same story is presented to the courts time and time and time again, is it not the duty of the Magistrates to question it?
It is the opinion of the author that both the Inspector General of Police and Secretary of the Ministry of Defense have some explaining to do; the IGP for the laxity of his officers in transporting criminals and the Secretary for the seemingly constant supply of hand grenades to the underworld. As for the arrogance of the police officers themselves, that is the responsibility of every Sri Lankan that remains silent when yet another suspect is extrajudicially killed for trying to throw a hand grenade at officers of the Sri Lankan Police Service.
Stewart Sloan served as a civilian officer for seven years with the Special Branch of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force. In December 2001 he was awarded a Commanding Officer's Commendation for "Attention to duty of a high order displayed in the pursuit of an operation of major security importance." Stewart currently words as an Editorial Assistant for a human rights NGO based in Hong Kong.
by Stewart Sloan
(The opinions expressed at the author's own)
(September 24, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka Guardian) It is an almost weekly occurrence now that the Sri Lankan police report the shooting to death in custody of a criminal when he attempted to throw a hand grenade at the officers. I am not sure what annoys me more, the incredibly poor standard of policing in the country or the fact that the Sri Lankan police think that we are all idiots.
NEWS: UNDERWORLD LEADER KILLED IN POLICE FIRE
September 22, 2010: Dematagoda Kamal, said to be a leader in the underworld, died in police fire at Diddeniya in Hanwella last night.
According to police, the suspect had been arrested last evening in the Diddeniya area in Hanwella along with a pistol and ammunition.
A high-ranking police officer said that when the suspect was taken to the Diddeniya area to locate a firearm and a haul of drugs, he had attempted to lob a hand grenade at them forcing police to open fire..........
- From an article published in Newsfirst.lk on the 23 September)
Let us take the typical scenario (two of which occurred within the last few weeks). A criminal is arrested for whatever reason and the police take him to a weapons cache. During the proceedings the criminal, no doubt a heinous and dangerous person, grabs a hand grenade and attempts to throw it at the officers; as a result of this cowardly act they bravely shoot him dead. The only witnesses to the incident are the police officers themselves so there is no one of an independent nature to corroborate their version of the events.
But, please, let us take a close and serious look at this scenario.
Any suspect, whether a known criminal or not, when being transported outside a police station should be securely handcuffed and closely guarded. This is not just for the protection of the police officers but also the suspect himself. Under Sri Lankan law as well as international law, a suspect is innocent until proven guilty. It does not require 15 years of experience in policing to know this. It is simply common sense. Any suspect must be considered dangerous until proven otherwise and it is recognised procedure to ensure the safety of the accompanying officers and the suspect himself at all times. Yet amazingly, all these suspects that are taken to a weapons cache to show it to the officers are able to grab hold of a grenade which they then attempt to throw at the officers. This raises several questions.
Anyone who has ever seen a war film will know that grenades are indiscriminate killers. They explode. They throw out shrapnel in all directions, killing the targets and, in close quarters, the person who threw it as well. So, the obvious question is, why would anyone throw a grenade in the knowledge that it is going to kill them as well as their intended targets. I suppose it is feasible that one out of every five criminals might be suicidal and uncaring as to whether they live or die, but all of them?
If the suspects have been keeping a cache of weapons for any length of time they would be in the position to know exactly what was there other than the grenades, perhaps a pistol, a T56 or some other weapon more suitable to killing or wounding the people around you without killing yourself at the same time. Why then do the suspects always opt for the grenade?
And then of course there is the obvious question: where do all these grenades come from in the first place? Is the Sri Lankan army so lax with its ordnance that it habitually looses the odd dozen grenades? If that is the case then the Secretary of the Ministry of Defense has a lot to answer for. And when these grenades do go missing what action is taken? Is anyone held responsible? There must be a tremendously profitable black market for these weapons if the street level criminals can get hold of them.
The arrogance of the Sri Lankan police never ceases to amaze me. They come up with these stories almost every month and because the rule of law situation in Sri Lanka has deteriorated to the point where there is no command responsibility they get away with it. From the Inspector General of Police all the way down to the Police Constable on the street, there is no accountability.
It is time for the people of Sri Lanka to say enough. It is time for the Magistrates to question the continuing incidence of the extrajudicial killing of suspects (against one of whom just recently there was no arrest warrant and no record of arrest. The first information that the Magistrate had that the fellow had been arrested in the first place was when the police officers told the court that they had killed him because he had tried to throw a bomb at them). The police know full well that without any independent witnesses the Magistrate has no option but to accept their version of the story. But when the same story is presented to the courts time and time and time again, is it not the duty of the Magistrates to question it?
It is the opinion of the author that both the Inspector General of Police and Secretary of the Ministry of Defense have some explaining to do; the IGP for the laxity of his officers in transporting criminals and the Secretary for the seemingly constant supply of hand grenades to the underworld. As for the arrogance of the police officers themselves, that is the responsibility of every Sri Lankan that remains silent when yet another suspect is extrajudicially killed for trying to throw a hand grenade at officers of the Sri Lankan Police Service.
Stewart Sloan served as a civilian officer for seven years with the Special Branch of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force. In December 2001 he was awarded a Commanding Officer's Commendation for "Attention to duty of a high order displayed in the pursuit of an operation of major security importance." Stewart currently words as an Editorial Assistant for a human rights NGO based in Hong Kong.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Mervyn, the IGP and proof positive
Stewart Sloan
The Sri Lanka Guardian – September 13, 2010
The views expressed at the author's own
I am sure that it is with much consternation to the ruling regime that the Sri Lanka Police Service has proved that they are not the complete idiots they portray themselves to be.
An editorial in a popular Sri Lankan newspaper reported the story of how the police were able to apprehend a heinous criminal and present her before court with sufficient evidence that the judge ordered bail in the sum of Rs. 100,000/=. What was the crime that called for such a stiff amount? She stole Rs. 5/=. Yes dear readers, you have read this correctly, it is not a misprint; a young girl with the most criminal intent stole five rupees! When the matter was reported to the police in Thebuwana, Kalutara, they sprang into action and arrested the culprit within moments.
Therefore, ergo and to wit, we all owe Inspector General of Police, Mahinda Balasuriya a heartfelt apology. Indeed, he should be commended by President Mahinda Rajapakse for proving once and for all that the Sri Lankan police can do their job with professionalism and honour.
Now that we have that out of the way the problems set in. Now that it has been publically acknowledged that the Sri Lankan police can do their job it is time for them to continue doing so and this is where President Rajapakse might not be so pleased.
They should immediately arrest Mervyn Silva for publically threatening the press for writing anything that he might consider offensive to the government. To quote the gentleman himself, ".... journalists should not write in a way which would ultimately force them to be hanged". They should also reopen the case in which Mervyn manhandled a Samurdhi officer and tied him to a tree as there is sufficient photographic evidence to prove this. The last time I looked the SLFP disciplinary committee, who found him innocent, is not a legally constituted judicial body and while they might have found him innocent a court of law might deem otherwise. They should also reopen the case against Mervyn for fraudulently issuing a cheque in the sum of Rs. 70,000/= in 2007 for which he was only asked to pay Rs. 2,500/= in costs. Okay, let us do the maths here: Fraudulently issuing a cheque in the sum of Rs. 70,000/= results in costs of Rs. 2,500/=, stealing Rs. 5/= results in bail of Rs. 100/000/=. If the survival of the world relied on my mathematical capabilities we would all be in serious trouble but even I can see a discrepancy here.
There is plethora of cases the police can sink their teeth into. The disappearance of Prageeth Eknaliyagoda, the assassinations of Sugath Nishanta Fernando and Lasantha Wickrematunge would be a good start. Using the same fervor and professionalism that they used in the arrest of the 13-year-old girl for stealing Rs. 5/= they should be able to solve these cases within days if not hours.
Dear Mr. Balasuriya, your officers have provided proof positive that they are capable of ensuring law and order and you may be proud of them. Now please ask them to do their job.
Stewart Sloan is the author of three novels and a collection of anecdotes about the Royal Hong Kong Police Force whom he served as a civilian from 1987 to 1997. He works as an editorial
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