LFD laments Law and Order breakdown, culture of impunity

Lawyers for Democracy’ (LFD) said they were concerned with the breakdown of law and order, and the rising cases of abductions in Sri Lanka.

Referring to the incident in Kolonnawa in the Wellampitiya police area, the LFD said the police have released the suspects at the order of a senior police officer, without producing them in a court of law.

The spate of recent abductions and disappearances is alarming. In January and February 2012 alone, 11 cases of abductions have been reported from across Sri Lanka, with at least seven of them linked to ‘white vans’.

These incidents have received attention as a result of the Government of Sri Lanka recently coming under increased scrutiny for their human rights record. According to a report issued in February 2012, by the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, 5,671 cases of involuntary disappearances remain outstanding in Lanka.

The ongoing abductions including the failed attempt in Wellampitiya confirms a culture of impunity with which perpetrators operate, raising questions about the nexus with the Defence authorities, they said.

LFD said it sees this present incident as another that erodes the criminal justice system in Sri Lanka, and exacerbates the cul- ture of impunity, and a further confirmation of the politicisation of the police in Sri Lanka.

“The continued practice of having the police and the military within the Ministry of Defence is a further worrying practice, and complete disregard of the recommendations made by the Government’s own Lessons Learnt & Reconciliation Commission (LLRC),” the statement said.

“In light of this dangerous situation, with the rising number of abductions and culture of impunity, LFD calls on the Government to immediately arrest this trend, and to prosecute those involved in such incidents,” the statement added.