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ACTION REQUEST

Sri Lanka: Rape and killing of woman by soldiers


                       VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
                           LKA 100899.VAW

The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your urgent intervention 
in the following situation in Sri Lanka.

Brief description of the situation

The International Secretariat has been informed by reliable sources of the 
alleged rape and killing of Ms Fahreen Ida Carmelitta Laila or Ida 
Caremelitta, a 21 year old woman, by 5 soldiers in the night of 12 July 
1999 in Pallimunai village on Mannar Island.

According to the information, five masked men, heavily armed, entered 
the house of Ida Caremelitta, while the family was sleeping, took her out 
of the house and violently raped and killed her. The post mortem report 
submitted by Dr Emmanuel Pieries, the district medical officer of Mannar 
observed that Ida Caremelitta had been repeatedly raped. Her lips and 
breast were bitten off and she was shot through her sexual organ. 

In an identification parade, two people, of which one brother of Ida 
Caremelitta, have identified two of the offenders. They have been 
arrested and taken to Anuradhapura Jail. 

According to the information, the eldest brother of Ida Caremelitta is in 
army custody for joining the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Ida 
Caremelitta herself was a refugee in India from 1990 to 1994. She returned 
to Pallimunai village to continue her studies in 1994. Two months after 
her arrival, two of her brothers were killed by militants of Tamil Eelam 
liberation Organisation (TELO), an anti LTTE group. 

In order to save Ida Caremelitta, her mother took her to Pandivirchan 
village near Madhu where she was recruited to join the LTTE. Last year, 
Ida Caremelitta expressed her wish to leave the LTTE and to join her 
family. In May 1999, she was staying in Adampan near Madhu in a 
Convent. On 15 June, she went to her family in Pallimunai, which is under 
the army control, and surrendered. After exhaustive enquiry the 
intelligence department released her and issued her a temporary stay 
pass. 

The International Secretariat expresses its grave concern over the 
continued reports of torture, including rape, of both women and young 
girls by Sri Lankan soldiers during the ongoing conflict in Sri Lanka. 
Previous cases suggest that many rapes often go unpunished and 
without any remedies.  

Action requested

Please write to the authorities of Sri Lanka urging them to

i.  guarantee an impartial and exhaustive inquiry into the rape and 
    killing of Ms Ida Caremelitta, bring those responsible before a 
    competent and impartial tribunal and apply the penal, civil and 
    administrative sanctions provided by law;

ii. guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the family 
    of Ms Ida Caremelitta and ensure them the right to adequate 
    reparation; 

  iii.	adopt immediate measures to put an end to these acts of torture 
and killings; 

  iv. ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and 
    fundamental freedoms in accordance with national laws and 
    international human rights standards.

Addresses

Her Excellency President Chandrika B. Kumaratunga, Presidential 
Residence, Colombo 3, Sri Lanka
Fax94 - 1 - 333 - 703 

Mr. Mangala Samaraweera, Minister of Posts, Telecommunications and 
Media, Old CTO Building
Lotus Rd, Colombo 1, Sri Lanka 

Inspector General of Police, Police Headquarters, New Secretariat, 
Colombo 1, Sri Lanka

Hon. Ambassador, Permanent Mission and Consulate General of Sri 
Lanka, 56, Rue De Moillebeau, 
5th Floor, 1 209, Geneva 19, Switzerland, Fax(41-22) 734 9084, E-mail
mission.srilanka@itu.ch

Hon. High-Commissioner, The High Commission of the Democratic 
Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka 13
Hyde Park Gardens London W2 2LU United Kingdom Fax(0171) 262-
7970, E-maillancom@easynet.co.uk

Geneva, 10 August 1999



The Human Rights Actions Network

Human Rights in Sri Lanka


Derechos

The Human Rights Action Network, a project of Derechos Human Rights, distributes appeals on behalf of victims of human rights violations. You are invited to join the network. Please check the date of the present action and do not write if it's over a month old.



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