White Van Abductions in Sri Lanka
Encyclopedia
Thousands of people have disappeared in Sri Lanka
since the 1980s. A 1999 study by the United Nations
found that Sri Lanka had the second highest number of disappearances in the world and that 12,000 Sri Lankans had disappeared after being detained by the Sri Lankan security forces
. A few years earlier the Sri Lankan government had estimated that 17,000 people had disappeared. In 2003 the Red Cross stated that it had received 20,000 complaints of disappearances during the Sri Lankan Civil War
of which 9,000 had been resolved but the remaining 11,000 were still being investigated.
Human rights groups such as Amnesty International
, Human Rights Watch
and Asian Human Rights Commission
have documented many of the disappearances and attributed them to the Sri Lankan security forces, pro-government paramilitary
groups and Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups
.
. Commissions have documented how thousands of people have been kidnapped by armed men and disappeared without a trace. The victims largely belong to the minority Sri Lankan Tamil community and thousands of Sinhalese youths from the Sinhalese
community during the JVP insurgency.Tens of thousands of people are missing, presumed executed.
and the capital Colombo
. A notable feature in the abductions is the use of white vans without number plates. White van abductions are a part of life in Jaffna and the abductions are carried with impunity even during curfew hours.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
since the 1980s. A 1999 study by the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
found that Sri Lanka had the second highest number of disappearances in the world and that 12,000 Sri Lankans had disappeared after being detained by the Sri Lankan security forces
Sri Lanka Armed Forces
The Sri Lanka Armed Forces is the overall unified military of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka encompassing the Sri Lanka Army, the Sri Lanka Navy, the Sri Lanka Air Force which comes under preview of the Ministry of Defence...
. A few years earlier the Sri Lankan government had estimated that 17,000 people had disappeared. In 2003 the Red Cross stated that it had received 20,000 complaints of disappearances during the Sri Lankan Civil War
Sri Lankan civil war
The Sri Lankan Civil War was a conflict fought on the island of Sri Lanka. Beginning on July 23, 1983, there was an on-and-off insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , a separatist militant organization which fought to create an independent Tamil state named Tamil...
of which 9,000 had been resolved but the remaining 11,000 were still being investigated.
Human rights groups such as Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
, Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
and Asian Human Rights Commission
Asian Human Rights Commission
The Asian Human Rights Commission is an independent, non-governmental body, which seeks to promote greater awareness and realisation of human rights in the Asian region, and to mobilise Asian and international public opinion to obtain relief and redress for the victims of human rights violations...
have documented many of the disappearances and attributed them to the Sri Lankan security forces, pro-government paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
groups and Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups
Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups
Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups rose to prominence in the 1970s to fight the state of Sri Lanka in order to create an independent Tamil Eelam in the north of Sri Lanka. They rose in response to the perception amongst minority Sri Lankan Tamils that the state was preferring the majority Sinhalese...
.
Background
Sri Lanka has a history of disappearances, both during the Sri Lankan Civil War and the 1980s JVP insurrectionInsurrection 1987-89
The 1987-89 insurrection in Sri Lanka, in which around 50,000 lives were lost, was carried out by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, a Marxist Sinhalese political party in Sri Lanka.-Leadup to conflict in the 1980s:...
. Commissions have documented how thousands of people have been kidnapped by armed men and disappeared without a trace. The victims largely belong to the minority Sri Lankan Tamil community and thousands of Sinhalese youths from the Sinhalese
Sinhalese people
The Sinhalese are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group,forming the majority of Sri Lanka,constituting 74% of the Sri Lankan population.They number approximately 15 million worldwide.The Sinhalese identity is based on language, heritage and religion. The Sinhalese speak Sinhala, an Indo-Aryan language and the...
community during the JVP insurgency.Tens of thousands of people are missing, presumed executed.
White vans
Many Tamil nationalists claim there was a resurgence of abductions in 2005 after the failure of Norwegian mediated peace process. The victims of the abductions were predominantly Sri Lankan Tamils living in JaffnaJaffna
Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna district located on a peninsula of the same name. Jaffna is approximately six miles away from Kandarodai which served as a famous emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from classical...
and the capital Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
. A notable feature in the abductions is the use of white vans without number plates. White van abductions are a part of life in Jaffna and the abductions are carried with impunity even during curfew hours.
See also
- Allegations of State terrorism by Sri Lanka
- Human rights in Sri LankaHuman rights in Sri LankaMajor human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as the United States Department of State and the European Union, have expressed concern about the state of human rights in Sri Lanka. Both the government of Sri Lanka and the separatist Liberation Tigers of...
- War crimes in Sri LankaWar crimes in Sri LankaAccording to the UN Panel Report, there are credible allegations and credible evidence that war crimes and according to the British Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt, there is a convincing evidence that violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, were committed by the Sri...
External links
- White Van Abduction captured in Video
- Lanka News White Van Death Squad exposed