Increased reports of violence expose Sri Lanka’s problem with military might

Social media was abuzz this week after a video of a military officer assaulting a civilian went viral, with many pointing out that it was yet another incident of a systemic issue which has long plagued Sri Lanka. The video recorded at a fuel station in Yaggapitiya, Kurunegala, shows a Sri Lankan Army officer kicking an unarmed civilian. Following public anger over the incident, Sri Lanka Army announced that it had launched an internal investigation into the incident, appointing a five-member Court of Inquiry to look into the aggressive conduct of the officer concerned. The senior officer involved in the incident at Yaggapitiya fuel station has been relieved of all his duties with immediate effect until investigations are concluded. A parallel military investigation of the Sri Lanka Army Corps of Military Police into the incident is also underway recording statements,the 
Sri Lanka Army said.     

However, Army Spokesman Brigadier Nilantha Premaratne speaking to the Daily Mirror said that according to the fuel station owner and other officials, a group of men who were at the filling station had interrupted operations at the station. The group were also reported to have verbally abused and interrupted the duties of the army and policemen who were on duty. Officials said they suspect that the group may have attempted to wilfully create unrest at the fuel station. Meanwhile, the spokesman said two civilians had been arrested over the incident.  

The Sri Lanka Army was quick to announce that biased media reports have further aggravated the situation. “A series of media reports including many social media blogs and video clips going viral, some of which are intentionally edited or projecting only one side or tail end of the dispute or extracted clips without properly projecting true ground realities have been observed by the Army where Army personnel are being humiliated or verbally abused while trying to assist proper distribution of fuel stocks. Such attempts go quite contrary to basic media ethics, too,” the Army said in a statement.   

“Those media clips, needless to reiterate, some of which project Army members as a ‘repressive force’ of undisciplined, impolite nature, are being produced by invisible elements in order to serve different agendas of their masters in order to ridicule members of the Army and cause animosity between civilians and Army personnel. The aggressive nature of the Army member was excessively prioritized in Media in order to ridicule him without projecting the violent behaviour of the drunken civilian,” they added.   

"The Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) is of the view that it is not appropriate to deploy service personnel in the present manner in matters which essentially should be managed by the Sri Lanka Police"

Inappropriate for service personnel to be deployed: BASL

Meanwhile the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) in a letter to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa warned of the serious consequences that could arise as a result of clashes between civilians and the armed forces and police at fuel stations.   

“Whilst keeping in mind that the police and armed forces are acting under very trying circumstances, nevertheless it is necessary to give strict instructions to the police and the forces to desist from violence in dealing with the public and to act with utmost restraint,” the BASL which represents the country’s largest body of legal professionals said.   

The Sri Lanka Army and other service personnel must be deployed only in very limited circumstances as contemplated in the Criminal Procedure Code. The BASL is of the view that it is not appropriate to deploy service personnel in the present manner in matters which essentially should be managed by the Sri Lanka Police, the BASL said.   

"When Rasika Herath, a resident of Kurunegala, took his phone to record the events that were transpiring at the fuel station, he had no idea that doing so would put him in danger’s way"

“No one will ever know what’s going to happen to you” - man who recorded video receives ‘disappearance’ threats

When Rasika Herath, a resident of Kurunegala, took his phone to record the events that were transpiring at the fuel station, he had no idea that doing so would put him in danger’s way. He uploaded the video to several social media platforms because he believed it to be unfair to beat an innocent civilian who was unarmed.   
After only a few hours, the video had already gone viral, with mainstream media quickly publicising the video clip that Herath had shared.   

When Herath began receiving calls from an unidentified number on multiple occasions, he didn’t even have time to stop and think how this would change his life. The caller had been abusive toward him verbally, threatening to show up at his residence.   

“I found out where you and your family live. I know your house. It won’t take me more than an hour to get to your home with my army men. Nobody will be able to learn what is going to happen to you,” the caller threatened Herath. Realising that his wife and his two children were in danger, Herath made the decision to send his family to stay with a relative.   

But Herath was able to verify the number which the threatening call came from. “I was able to find the officer’s contact information, and he was the one who kicked the civilian. His contact information matched the number from which I had received the threatening phone call,” he said.   
However, the following morning, Herath was awakened by another call that came in from a new number. The unidentified voice advised him; “take good care of yourself. I shall meet you very soon “.  

"“Troubled by images of violence in petrol queues, involving police and army, I urge security services to understand the frustration of citizens spending hours in long lines, and to exercise restraint in the use of force. I call on authorities to investigate any excessive use of force,” United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka Hanaa Singer-Hamdy said in a tweet"

“People who expose military violations always subject to threats”

 In a series of tweets, former Human Rights Commissioner Ambika Satkunanathan criticized the excessive use of force and brutality by military personnel toward civilians over the course of the past few months.  
She said people who expose police or military violations have always been subject to threats and violence. “Even victims of torture have been threatened and forced to withdraw complaints. It is an inevitable part and outcome of the culture of impunity and myth-making about the greatness of the security sector.”  

Ms. Satkunanathan questioned how the questionable army officer was defending himself, which is the only legal justification that the military could ever have for using force against a civilian. She noted that being verbally abused or humiliated is not a justification for violence. “If the officer kicked a civilian because he was violent, then it was after the fact and would constitute punishment.”   

Section 12(a) (ii) of Constitution Against Torture Act 1994 says, torture is any act that severe pain, physical or mental...done to punish a person for any act which he’s committed or suspected of having committed. If found guilty of the offence, the penalty is imprisonment of not less than 7 years. However, she pointed out that kicking a civilian is not “aggressive” or “unfortunate,” it is an offense and is also a violation of Article 11 of the Constitution of Sri Lanka.  

Speaking to journalist Arun Arokianathan on social media, Satkunanathan said that the military doesn’t know how to diffuse or de-escalate a situation. “Their first instinct is always – and we have seen video evidence of this over the past few months -- is to use violence, so they assault, and that only increases the violence and the conflict,” she said.   

Increased incidents of violence

Reports of clashes between police, military and civilians have increased over the past month. On June 23, a policeman attached to the Warakapola police was assaulted by an army officer at the Dummaladeniya filling station in Warakapola. The attack had taken place following a verbal feud between the Army lieutenant and the policeman who were providing security to the filling station. Interestingly, CCTV footage of the incident showed civilians at the fuel station attempting to break up the fight between the two officers. The police officer was critically injured in the attack, according to the Warakapola police, while the army officer was arrested.   

“Troubled by images of violence in petrol queues, involving police and army, I urge security services to understand the frustration of citizens spending hours in long lines, and to exercise restraint in the use of force. I call on authorities to investigate any excessive use of force,” United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka Hanaa Singer-Hamdy said in a tweet.   

More recently, four suspects were arrested in connection with the unrest at the Kandakadu Rehabilitation and Treatment Centre in Polonnaruwa. The suspicious death of an inmate resulted in a clash between officials and inmates, which saw over 600 inmates attempting to flee the compound.   
Police stated that two Air Force Sergeants, an Army Staff Sergeant and an Army Sergeant who served as support counsellors at the Kandakadu Treatment and Rehabilitation Centre were arrested over the death. The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka is to carry out an independent investigation, while Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe has also called for a report into the incident.  

Amnesty International South Asia expressed concern over the events reported from Kandakadu, stating that the death of the 36 year old inmate must be thoroughly, independently and impartially investigated. “Furthermore, there should be no place for the army in matters related to public health and drug policy. Drug dependence is a health condition that requires the attention of health professionals, not soldiers,” it said.