The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the case of the above-mentioned parliamentarians of Sri Lanka, as outlined in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/186/12(b)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 185th session (October 2009); referring also to the report on the on-site mission to Sri Lanka carried out by the Committee in February 2008 (CL/183/12(b)-R.2),

Taking into account the police report forwarded by the Parliament of Sri Lanka on 18 March 2010 and of information provided by Dr. Jayawardena on 19 February 2010,

Considering the following information on file:

• In December 2007, relatives of Mr. Ariyanethran and Mr. Jayanandamoorthy and a member of Ms. Kathimaran's staff were abducted, reportedly by the paramilitary group Pillayan, and the parliamentarians were warned that the abducted persons would be killed should they vote against the budget; the matter was raised in Parliament; the abducted persons were all released on 15 December 2007, after the vote on the budget; on 18 November 2007, Mr. Kanagasabai lodged a complaint with the police regarding the abduction of his son-in-law, who was released the next day;according to the police report of March 2010, no information has surfaced so far about the abductors in all these cases and the cases were laid-by with provision to reopen subsequent to the arrest of suspects;

• Mr. Kajendren's brother was abducted on 24 March 2009 by armed persons inside the high-security area in Madiwela/Colombo while he was returning to Mr. Kajendren's home; eyewitnesses reported that he was stopped by a police sentry for a routine check; a little later, a van and more police officers arrived at the scene and he was bundled into the vehicle before it sped off; this reportedly occurred barely 48 hours before the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) was to decide whether or not to accept an invitation for direct talks with President Rajapakse; Mr. Kajendren's brother reappeared in April 2009, but was warned by his abductors not to divulge any information; the police report conveyed by the Ministry for Disaster Management and Human Rights on 17 June 2009 states that Mr. Kajendren's brother "was unable to furnish any useful information to identify the abductors or to locate the place where he was kept". An inquiry was being conducted by Mirihana Police to identify the abductors; the police report of March 2010 contains no information on the relevant investigation;

• Mr. Kajendren's driver, Mr. Kones, was reportedly arrested on 10 May 2009 at Karunayake International Airport; he was on his way abroad in view of the death threats he had been receiving, reportedly from the Elam People's Democratic Party (EDPD) and army intelligence, ever since he started working for Mr. Kajendren in 2004; he was reportedly arrested by the Terrorism Investigation Division and detained at Pusa Prison in Galle; no charges have reportedly been brought against him and the source fears that charges may be fabricated; the authorities have provided no information on his situation;

• According to Mr. Chandranehru, the person who attacked him during a visit to his constituency in June 2007 was Mr. Iniyabarathy, alias "Kumarasuwamy Pushpakumar"; that person, he reported, had been appointed coordinator for President Rajapakse in Ampara District and received his credentials from the President on 25 May 2008; Mr. Iniyabarathy and his group reportedly continued to threaten Mr. Chandranehru's supporters and constituents in an attempt to have them break off contact with him; Mr. Chandranehru could therefore no longer travel to his constituency for fear of his safety; he raised the matter as a privilege issue and complained to the Inspector General of Police, the Attorney General and the Speaker, reportedly to no avail; according to the police report of August 2008, during an identification parade, a certain "Parathy" was identified as the likely culprit and the court ordered him to appear upon notice; according to the police report of April 2009, the Attorney General directed the police to apprehend "Parathy" and to have him produced at an identification parade; the case was taken up for trial on 16 September 2008 and referred back to the Attorney General; according to the progress reports of March 2010, the police questioned 20 persons without success; however, a person surrendered to Court admitting that he had assaulted Mr. Chandranehru; the Attorney General has since filed an indictment against him and the court directed the prosecuting State counsel to obtain further evidence from the Attorney General; the case is to be called on 1 June 2010 before the High Court of Kalmunai;

• In October 2009, Dr. Jayawardena stated that he repeatedly sought permission to visit the internally displaced persons (IDP) camps set up following the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE); however, permission was denied by the Defence Minister, although it had been granted to a group of British and Indian parliamentarians; likewise, permission for him and members of Parliament's human rights group, which he founded, to visit welfare centres and government hospitals in the districts of Mannar and Vavunyia was denied; moreover, TNA parliamentarians were reportedly unable to visit their constituencies as permission had not been granted by the Defence Minister; according to Minister Samarasinghe, only two opposition members had applied for permission, which was given to one of them, who finally did not visit the camps; however, requests by MPs to visit the camps would be facilitated,

Recalling lastly that the persons concerned have all received death threats, in one case by a person who identified himself; that, however, the authors of none of these threats have ever been identified,

Bearing in mind that since the defeat of the LTTE, presidential elections were held in January 2010 and President Rajapakse was re-elected; that he dissolved parliament on 28 March 2010 and announced elections for 8 April and the convening of the new parliament for 22 April,

1. Thanks the parliamentary authorities and the police for the report on the current stage of some of the investigations in the cases in question; regrets, however, that many questions it had raised remain unanswered;

2. Earnestly hopes that the restriction of freedom of movement of members of parliament, in particular those belonging to the opposition, has now been entirely lifted so that they can all freely move and campaign in their constituencies for the forthcoming elections;

3. Is concerned at the withdrawal of Dr. Jayawardena's security detail, especially at this juncture, and wishes to ascertain the legal grounds for this decision, which may indeed jeopardize Dr. Jayawardena's security;

4. Remains deeply concerned at the abductions of family members and staff of TNA parliamentarians; recalls once again that there are clear leads as to the group behind the abductions in 2007 and its motives, which at the time even gave rise to a parliamentary debate; urges therefore the investigative authorities to take full account of the information revealed during the parliamentary debate; furthermore reiterates that sufficient eyewitness reports exist of the abduction of Mr. Kajendren's brother so that the police need not rely on testimony from him as he may have been threatened into not revealing any information;

5. Reaffirms that impunity is among the most serious human rights violations as it deprives the victims and their families of their right to justice and, in addition, encourages the repetition of crime; considers that fighting impunity and restoring the rule of law and respect for human rights in countries which, like Sri Lanka, have come out of a civil war should be among the priorities of the authorities;

6. Remains further concerned at the arrest and alleged detention without charge of Mr. Kajendren's driver, reportedly related to his work for Mr. Kajendren; and reiterates its wish to ascertain on what legal grounds he is being held; recalls that Sri Lanka, as a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees freedom from arbitrary arrest, must respect the right of arrested persons to be informed of the charges laid against them, to have access to a lawyer, to be brought promptly before a judge, and to challenge their detention;

7. Notes with interest that a person confessed to having attacked Dr. Chandranehru during a visit to his constituency after the police had earlier identified and released a possible suspect and Mr. Chandranehru had identified another person as the attacker; would appreciate receiving the observation of the authorities in this regard and being kept informed of the proceedings in this case;

8. Requests the Secretary General to convey this resolution to the new parliamentary authorities and the competent governmental authorities, inviting their comments;

9. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held on the occasion of the 123rd IPU Assembly (October 2010).

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