Sri Lanka: 1) Conflict between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan Army, 2) killings of civilian Tamils, and 3) information of the Rapid Deployment Force and the murder of journalists

The LTTE-SLA Conflict

The most recent eruption of violence between the Sri Lankan Army (SLA) and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE) began on 11 June 1990. The LTTE reportedly captured up to 20 police stations in the northeast of the country. Reports on 16 and 17 June stated that the Tigers had abducted about 800 unarmed policemen and killed between 90 and 137. On 14 June, however, The Independent reported an LTTE claim that the police of a station in Batticaloa had fired on members of the force prior to them taking action.("Sri Lanka Declares Total War"; "Tigers Again, Fresh from Their Sleep"; "Sri Lanka Rivals Declare Truce"; "Sri Lanka Rebels Raid Vital Airfield"; "Sri Lankan Envoy Returns"; Whitaker, "All-Out War Looms")

Reports between 17 and 20 June provided increasing figures for the amount of casualties, with a 20 June report stating that about 1000 had been killed since 11 June.(McCarthy, "Thousands Flee"; de Silva, "Tamil Tigers Step Up Attacks"; "Sri Lanka Declares Total War") An 18 June report in The Independent, reported that the SLA were preparing for a long, drawn out battle with the LTTE and another report in the same source indicates that both sides are more heavily armed now than in 1987, just prior to the arrival of the Indian Peacekeeping Force (IPKF), which left Sri Lanka in March of this year. The LTTE reportedly have 2,000 armed fighters and 3,000 newly trained recruits, while a Washington Post report puts the SLA's strength at 35 to 50 thousand. The LTTE are reportedly employing anti-helicopter artillery against SLA forces.(de Silva, "Tamil Tigers Step Up Attacks"; Coll, "Sri Lanka, Rebels Agree"; "Sri Lanka Declares Total War"; "Attack by Sri Lankan Troops"; McCarthy, "Thousands Flee"; McCarthy, "Sri Lanka Ceasefire")

The Effect on Civilian Tamils

Two reports indicate that up to 100 thousand civilian Tamils have fled the recent fighting in the northeast of the country, especially the region around Batticoloa.(McCarthy, "Thousands Flee"; "Attack by Sri Lankan Troops") Regarding casualties, none of the reports consulted provide a breakdown between military and civilian deaths, but two reports cited above do indicate that civilians are among those killed. According to LTTE sources quoted in a 14 June report, the SLA had killed 100 civilians over the previous three days.(Whitaker, "All-Out War Looms"; "Sri Lanka Declares Total War"; de Silva, "Tamil Tigers Step Up Attacks") Articles in The Independent indicate that Sinhalese in the town of Tincomalee rampaged through Tamil neighbourhoods, burning Tamil houses to the ground. LTTE sources quoted in The Globe and Mail state that the SLA have set fire to Tamil homes in regions where fighting has taken place. While the Tigers claim the SLA has been using helicopter gunships against the civilian Tamil population, a 16 June report states only that the SLA has been using such equipment against "Tiger positions."(McCarthy, "Fiercer Fighting in Sri Lanka"; "Sri Lanka Declares Total War"; McCarthy, "Tamils Burned Out")

In what was described by The Washington Post as an "apparently unprecedented" act, the Sri Lankan government was reported to have distributed arms to Sinhalese civilians in the areas where violence has resumed, in order for them to help combat the LTTE. The government has also reportedly detained about 500 Tamils in Colombo, as a preventative measure to minimize the possibility of terrorist attacks.(McCarthy, "Fiercer Fighting in Sri Lanka"; Coll, "Sri Lanka, Rebels Agree")

The Rapid Deployment Force and the Murder of Journalists

Reports consulted do not mention a "rapid deployment force". A number of other special police or para-military forces are mentioned. For instance, according to Amnesty International, the Special Task Force (STF), "is a unit of police commandos, reportedly responsible directly to the President." After the arrival of the IPKF in 1987, the STF was restricted in its activities to the southern part of the country.(Amnesty International, Sri Lanka: Continuing Human Rights Violations, p. 5) According to a report in The Sri Lanka Monitor, Operation Combine was an anti-subversion operation which captured leading members of the People's Liberation Front (JVP) in 1989. On 8 March 1990, the Sri Lankan Defence Minister reportedly announced the disbandment of Operation Combine but at the same time announced that a Special Forces Brigade would soon be in operation.("A Law Unto Themselves")

Please find attached an excerpt from a recent edition of News from Asia Watch, which describes the recent murder of the journalist, Richard De Zoysa. It mentions "a special police team reporting directly," to the President, which witnesses link to the killing. The report also states that in some of his articles, De Zoysa had levelled allegations of extrajudicial killings against the STF. Also find attached an excerpt from a December 1989 report from Amnesty International which describes attacks on other journalists in the country.

Bibliography

        "Sri Lanka Declares Total War on Rebels," The Globe and Mail, 19 June 1990, p. A10

"Tigers Again, Fresh from Their Sleep," The Economist [London], 16 June 1990, p. 36

"Sri Lanka Rivals Declare Truce; Toll Is Put at 376," The New York Times, 17 June 1990, p. 4

"Sri Lanka Rebels Raid Vital Airfield in North," The New York Times, 16 June 1990, p. 2

"Sri Lankan Envoy Returns for Talks with Tamil Rebels," Reuters, 16 June 1990

Raymond Whitaker, "All-Out War Looms as Sri Lanka Truce Fails," The Independent [London], 14 June 1990, p. 11.

Terry McCarthy, "Thousands Flee as War is Declared in Sri Lanka," The Independent [London], 19 June 1990, p. 11

Dalton de Silva, "Tamil Tigers Step Up Attacks, Ignore Cease-Fire," Reuters, 18 June 1990

"Attack by Sri Lankan Troops Sends Rebels Back to Jungle," The Ottawa Citizen, 20 June 1990, p. A10.

Steve Coll, "Sri Lanka, Rebels Agree on Truce," The Washington Post, 17 June 1990, p. A36

Terry McCarthy, "Sri Lanka Ceasefire Shattered," The Independent [London], 18 June 1990, p. 10.

Terry McCarthy, "Fiercer Fighting in Sri Lanka," The Independent [London], 16 June 1990, p. 16

Terry McCarthy, "Tamils Burned Out of Old Tiger Town," The Independent [London], 18 June 1990, p. 10.

Amnesty International, Sri Lanka: Continuing Human Rights Violations (London: Amnesty International Publications Ltd., May 1989, ASA 37/04/89)

"A Law Unto Themselves," The Sri Lanka Monitor [Colombo], March 1990, p. 2