HELP Advocates Sri Lanka condemns the assassination of Fr. M.X. Karunaratnam
April 22, 2008
Fr. M.X. Karunaratnam, a Catholic priest and Chairman of the NorthEast Secretariat on Human Rights in Sri Lanka, was killed by a claymore mine set off by the Sri Lankan armed forces on Sunday, April 20 in the northern Vanni region. HELP Advocates Sri Lanka condemns this assassination in the strongest possible terms and mourns the passing of an important and effective advocate for human rights on the island. We call on the United Nations and its constituent members to condemn this killing as a setback to the protection of civilians, particularly in the northeastern Tamil areas. We urge a redoubling of efforts to establish a UN human rights field monitoring mission in all parts of the island.
Fr. Karunaratnam was instrumental in the creation in 2004 of the NorthEast Secretariat on Human Rights (NESoHR), the only local, independent human rights monitoring body in the NorthEast of Sri Lanka, as part of the Norweiganled ceasefire. He was a committed defender of the human rights of all people who worked to bring abuses to light and to right injustices as they occurred, from whatever source. He persevered in creating awareness that respect for human rights can be upheld despite the prevailing war conditions. He is the third founding member of NESoHR to be killed by Sri Lankan armed forces or the paramilitary associated with them since 2006. The killing of Fr. Karunaratnam adds to the heavy toll of humanitarian, human rights and religious workers killed in the course of the ethnic conflict.
In his latest report issued on April 5, 2008, Fr. Karunaratnam stated that: “The local [Sri Lankan] mechanism to ensure good governance with respect for human rights has miserably failed and there is widespread call for the establishment of a UN body to monitor human rights violations.” He also stated further that, “NESoHR as the Human Rights body of the Tamil people had high hopes in the UN Human Rights session in view of the build up of opinion against human rights violations committed by state actors in Sri Lanka.”
The deterioration of human rights on the island, particularly of the human rights of the Tamil-speaking people, in the context of the breakdown of the ceasefire between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE requires more action to protect civilians from abuse by armed forces. HELP Advocates Sri Lanka calls on governments with an interest in a stable, prosperous island in the strategic Indian Ocean to take action to immediately establish a UN human rights monitoring mission for Sri Lanka.