“Father Bernard also told us of an EPDP medical doctor named Dr. Sinnathambi, who performs forced abortions, often under the guise of a regular check-up, on Tamil women suspected of being aligned with the LTTE.” the US Embassy Colombo informed Washington.
The Colombo Telegraph found the related leaked cable from the WikiLeaks database. The cable is classified as “SECRET” and discuses Sri Lanka’s paramilitary operations. The cable was written by the Ambassador Robert O. Blake on May 18, 2007.
We publish below the relevant part of the cable;
File photo
VZCZCXRO9322 OO RUEHBI RUEHLMC DE RUEHLM #0728/01 1380922 ZNY SSSSS ZZH O 180922Z MAY 07 FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6072 INFO RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN PRIORITY 0407 RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 0115 RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 7096 RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU PRIORITY 5189 RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 3756 RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 0973 RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO PRIORITY 3828 RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PRIORITY 1087 RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 2907 RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI PRIORITY 7682 RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI PRIORITY 5363 RUEHON/AMCONSUL TORONTO PRIORITY 0209 RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION PRIORITY RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 2046 RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 06 COLOMBO 000728
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS
MCC FOR S GROFF, D TETER, D NASSIRY AND E BURKE
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/18/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PHUM MOPS CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: GSL COMPLICITY IN PARAMILITARY
FACTIONS' HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES
REF: A. COLOMBO 591
¶B. COLOMBO 561
¶C. COLOMBO 463
¶D. COLOMBO 460
¶E. 2006 COLOMBO 2056
¶F. 2006 COLOMBO 1896
¶G. 2005 COLOMBO 2157
¶H. 2004 COLOMBO 1219
Classified By: Ambassador Robert O. Blake, Jr., for reasons 1.4(b, d)
¶1. (S) SUMMARY: Allegations of government complicity in
crimes committed by organized paramilitary groups have
mounted in the last year. Paramilitaries such as the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)-breakaway Karuna
group and Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP) have helped
the Government of Sri Lanka (GSL) to fight the LTTE, to
kidnap suspected LTTE collaborators, and to give the GSL a
measure of deniability. The GSL, which denies any links to
paramilitary groups, has recently touted its efforts to
improve its human rights record, such as the re-publication
of procedures on arrests and detentions and the appointment
of a "One-Man Commission" to investigate reported
disappearances (ref C). However, these efforts so far appear
aimed more at improving Sri Lanka's image abroad and have yet
to produce concrete improvements in the human rights
situation. Outside the capital, the incidence of human
rights abuses has continued, including extrajudicial
killings, abductions, child trafficking, extortion, and
prostitution. President Rajapaksa's government, strapped for
cash, has cut direct payments to paramilitaries initiated by
former President Kumaratunga and instead turns a blind eye to
extortion and kidnapping for ransom by EPDP and Karuna.
While many of the charges against the government have been
made in public fora, a growing number of trusted Embassy
contacts, often at personal risk, have described in detail
the extent of the GSL's involvement with paramilitary groups.
END SUMMARY.
Extra-Judicial Killings with the Military's Support --------------------------------------------- ------ ¶15. (S) Working in concert with SLA soldiers stationed in the Jaffna peninsula, the EPDP is able to conduct extortion, abductions, extra-judicial killings and other criminal acts without fear of consequences, according to numerous sources. On April 20, Catholic priest Father Bernard (strictly protect) told us about EPDP's involvement in extra-judicial killings in Jaffna. Independently, on April 24, Jaffna Government Agent Ganesh (strictly protect) confirmed much of Father Bernard's account. He explained that when the EPDP intends to kill a target, they first provide notice to the military. The number of soldiers patrolling the streets of Jaffna (40,000 total on the peninsula) is such that there are literally soldiers stationed at every street corner. At an agreed time, all of the soldiers in the designated area take a five to ten minute "break" at once (although the normal practice is to take breaks in shifts). At that point, armed and masked gunmen, often riding on motorcycles, race down the street and assassinate the intended victim. Shortly after the killing, the soldiers' break over, they return to their posts to deal with the aftermath. While police investigations are common, they almost never lead to arrests. Father Bernard also told us of an EPDP medical doctor named Dr. Sinnathambi, who performs forced abortions, often under the guise of a regular check-up, on Tamil women suspected of being aligned with the LTTE.
BLAKE
Related posts to this cable;
WkiLeaks: Gota Authorized Paramilitary Operations – Sri Ranga
WikiLealks: Major General Chandrasiri Confided MOD Instruction To US
WikiLeaks: EPDP Sold Jaffna Children: Girls To Prostitution Rings And Boys To Slavery
Fathima Fukushima / September 18, 2013
If he did a forced abortion on [Edited out] we don’t have any racism problems in SL.
This has huge potential. Government should help him.
/
Rama / September 19, 2013
you [Edited out]sewer rats. you must enlist the help of sinnatamby in order to arrest the sinhala population explosion.
/
shankar / September 18, 2013
He is measuring to see whether a fat prabha will come out.
Any doctor with the name of sinnathambi is suspect.When i was a teenager i remember a Dr.Sinnathamby in wellawatta giving medical certificates for 100 rupees.All the guys studying for the ICMA were going and getting from him and he was famous among the bosses who wanted him kicked out of the medical profession.I did not know this and when a guy told me to go to him and pay the hundred,i went with the MC to my boss and he hollered “ha sinnathamby eh”.Maybe this sinnathamby is a descendent of his because genes are passed down and must be charging the GOSL hundred times more than his grandpa for each forced abortion.
/
Suranee / September 18, 2013
Dear GOSL,
I would like to know why Karuna and his gang of rapists, extortionists and murderers are using my tax money including that of other Sri Lankan taxpayers to feed themselves, their families, etc while at the same time committing all these horrendous atrocities?
Please put a leash on this dog and his gang and keep them under control before these animals cause more harm.
I’m not a Buddhist but I’m starting to believe what Lord Buddha said about humans being capable of being born as animals plus animals being born as humans. Looks like Karuna and his murdering entourage must definitely have been animals in their previous life.
Father Bernard
My advise to you is to please contact the Vatican and ask His Holiness to intervene and help put a stop to this.
/
K.A Sumanasekera / September 18, 2013
So all the nasties of the past, like killings, bombings. abductions and even illigal abortions were done by bad Doughie and his boys.
Wonder what Vellala Wiggy’s new Hero and Pottu Amman were doing for three decades.
The Former perhaps was meeting and greeting the VVIPS from EU lead by Solly from Norway and attend Board meetings, while the latter was busy organising their itenaries and logistics , involving Sea Planes.
Or was he the Events Manager?.
/
Kanagi Amman / September 18, 2013
There are two sides to this story re. women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights. First, I am not an EPDP or GoSL supporter – I abohor both.
But we need to be balanced. In the good old days, the LTTE used women and teenage girls as ‘breeders’ to provide children for their child and “baby brigades”. This is a fact. Young girls who were children were encouraged to marry and have kids..
LTTE prevented women and girl children having access to ANY birth control methods, because they wanted women – young and old – to have as many children as – possible to recruit them.
The LTTE did not give a damn about women SRH or women’s rights to their bodies. This LTTE policy was practiced particularly in the East Coast poor, uneducated and low caste communities whose children were the LTTE’s cannon fodder.
I personally interviewed teenage girls, their mothers and grand mothers who were denied education and access to reproductive health care for generations by the LTTE – particularly in Muttur area, and in Raalkuli villages.. Now we are hearing the reverse- about the State forcing abortions..
There needs to be a proper study from a feminist and women’s perspective and historical analysis of the SRH situation for women in former LTTE area – today and in the past.. for a proper SRH policy to be formulated..
/
sach / September 18, 2013
CT campagining for TNA:d Now doin ut openly! good good who cares about independant media.
Anyway if this is true this must be investigated and punished. I dont like Douglas as well. But i dont think douglas would do that.
Just because one is said to come from Wikileaks it doesnt mean it is true!
/
Siva Sankaran Sarma / September 18, 2013
Tamils performing forced abortions on Tamils, Tamils selling Tamils into sex slavery, Tamils selling their [Edited out] to make a quick rupee..
Tamils will be Tamils.
/
Fathima Fukushima / September 18, 2013
Tamils are tame + ills. Or ill tamed people.
The army should have tamed them well like IPKF did.
But if Tamils kill Tamils, Tamils abortion Tamil women, Tamils sell Tamil children, who cares?
Help them do these wonderful things! :)
A Tamil-less SL is a great SL.
/
Rajash / September 18, 2013
Tamils are tame?
that is why the Tamil LTTE was regarded as one of the most ruthless and efficinet liberattion organisation in the world for 30 years. They had intelligence to built their own aircraft that can fly in the nights without light, submarines, communication, TV, etc etc
They will rise up again.
/
Rajash / September 18, 2013
The Sinhala women are sold to middle east men to do menial jobs and as prstitutes. The income generated by this Sinhala women are now the top foreign exchange earner next to tourism and taking over tea.
It is a shame that Sinhala Buddhis Women like fukushima are sold as slaves in the government sponsored trade.
Slvery is erdicated all over the world except the olny race that sold as slavery is Sinhal Race.
Even today in Colombo Sinhala maids work in Tamil houses. You woint find the opposite.
So fukushima what ur name suggets perhaps you should change your name to fathima fukuarabs
/
Fathima Fukushima / September 19, 2013
Tamil women are sold to grease devils in hundreds of thousands.
There are 89,000 Tamil Mahaveer war widows. They collect their “pension” from grease devils! :)
/
Fathima Fukushima / September 19, 2013
Tamil women are sold to grease devils.
There are 89,000 Tamil Mahaveer Mathas. They collect their “pension” from grease devils.
/
Rajash / September 19, 2013
sorry what is grease devil?
/
DeSelva / September 19, 2013
I agree with Rajash.
The Sinhla Women of Sri Lanka are the only race in this world sold as Slaves in the 21st century
Even the african slavery is now eradicated.
The Sri Lankan Government is so proud of the foreign exchange these Sinhala women slaves bring to this country
without them the country will be bankrupt
/
Siva Sankaran Sarma / September 19, 2013
Are you guys talking about these “Sinhala” woman slaves?
“Thangarasa Jeyanthi, 20 and emaciated, had arrived at the shelter from Lebanon one morning. She had a face as purple and puffy as a plum, eyes swollen shut, burn marks on her body and dried blood still around her ears.
The husband and wife she worked for had assaulted her daily, she said, speaking in the high, anguished voice of a little girl who cannot understand what she has done wrong. They had cut her with a knife, kicked and stomped on her, tied her hands with rope and denied her food.”
“A Sri Lankan maid, in transit on her way home from Kuwait to see her children for the first time in three years, hanged herself in a toilet at Dubai airport, an Emirati daily said on Thursday.
Kala Sangarapillai, 30, from the Batticaloa district of eastern Sri Lanka took her own life three weeks ago, the English-language Al-Khaleej Times newspaper said, citing a forensics officer from Dubai police.”
“RIYADH: A Sri Lankan maid who completed her two-year contract in Saudi Arabia was murdered by her Saudi sponsor in Al-Jouf province, said the Sri Lankan Embassy in Riyadh.
Pavani Devi Sinnaiyah, 36, who was working in Al-Qurayat in Al-Jouf province, some 1,200 km from Riyadh, died under mysterious circumstances on Jan. 19. Police have arrested her Saudi sponsor in connection to her death.”
“Selladorai Pushpavalli (36), had made a promise to her four children that she will bring them each a box of chocolates when she returned home, after completing two years in Dhamman, Saudi Arabia. In the coming week, Pushpavalli will return to her makeshift home in Harispathuwa — in a box.”
“A woman resident of Vakarai was severely tortured in Saudi Arabia by her employer that left her seriously maimed. She was handed over to her relatives at the Foreign Employment Bureau Office, on Monday. The Victim is Manohary Bawani, a mother of two children who went to Saudi Arabia in June 2003 to work as a housemaid in Damam.”
/
Rama / September 19, 2013
oi fathuma fcuk, i must say sinhala less world is a boon to humanity. why do we need chingalams in this world. i am sorry we need them to clean the toilets of arab masters and keep arab homes tidy.
/
Fathima Fukushima / September 19, 2013
Tamil-less world will soon be a reality.
Last time Tamils cried genocide.
Next time Tamils will cry genital-o-cide.
SL needs more like Douglas. NPC election will create more of him.
/
Rama / September 20, 2013
oi fathima fcuk, a world without sinhala animals will be a better place to live. sinhala terrorists unleashed terrorism on tamil people as far back as 1948. tamil freedom fighters defended tamil people against sinhala terrorists fo almost 30 years. now sinhala terrorists are going on and on about terrorisnm day in day out. it’s because they have nothing better to talk about. sinhalac black monkey army should be kicked out from northeast. these sinhala black monkeys are rapists , killers and child molesters. one batch of black sinhala army was sent back from haiti for molesting children and raping prostitutes. now another batch has repeated the same. black sinhala monkey army took the haitian black girls into the bush and raped them. what a load of uncivilised animals. sinhala black monkey army soldiers have sex with their mothers and sisters. these animals including black monkeys chandrasiri and hathurasinghe should piss off from northeast.
/
Thiru / September 18, 2013
Douglas should be investigated for genocide of Tamils by the UNHRC.
/
I I O / September 18, 2013
Source is not credible. US embassy say this because they know Wiki leaks read them. Then Sri Lankan media report them like this.
Abortion is wrong and criminal should be punished with death penalty.
/
Rajash / September 18, 2013
This aboortion may have been on women who had non protective sex with Douglas and his coharts and got pregnant?
If not they may have to pay for child maintenance
/
Fathima Fukushima / September 19, 2013
SL needs more Douglas type people the abort the Tamil race.
/
shankar / September 19, 2013
How about aborting fathima fukshit from CT.
fathima you need a rest.I suggest you go and buy a vibrator.I saw a tv show recently where they were showing long objects that were used during the English kings period and they were saying that it was used to masturbate women who were getting cranky.So when the kings men used it on them all that pent up frustartion and rage dissapeared,they said.
Hope you got the point and take the advice.
/
Peace Lover / September 19, 2013
and we need more people like you leela of lee potter (who then became KA Sumansekera and now Fathima Fukushima) to keep us entertained and at the same time show your stupid genes to the rest of the society thereby verifying the famous of a kavun eating modaya hahahaahaahahahaahaha
/
Rama / September 20, 2013
oi fathima fcuk, i know your mother tried to abort you as she was only a 15 year old school girl at that time.
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Sandy / September 19, 2013
Fathima.Your wicked remarks against our Tamil friends makes me SICK to the pit of my stomach.
Do you by any chance have a mother, sister or daughter?
Would you like your own family to be so belittled?
‘Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks’-
/
Peace Lover / September 19, 2013
its none other than leela of lee potter (who then became KA Sumansekera and now Fathima Fukushima)
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shankar / September 19, 2013
If you scroll up you will find a comment from sumanasekera.Writing style of his and fathima seems different.fathima seems a loony.
/
Don Sarath / September 20, 2013
Fr. Bernard who himself is a strong backer of the LTTE terrorists will concoct any rubbish to disgrace those who are against the LTTE. The majority of the Sri Lankans know that the leaders of Christian Church in the North of Sri Lanka, and that of Tamil Nadu are ardent supporters of the LTTE.
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Rama / September 20, 2013
tigers were freedom fighters as they stood in the way of sinhala terrorists killing innocent tamil people. it’s not only the church but also humans supported tigers. for 30 over years sinhala terrorists were like pussy cats , always looking for a place to hide.
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Siva Sankaran Sarma / September 20, 2013
[Edited out]
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Rama / September 20, 2013
black monkey bogus sarma get up the tree.
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thuraisingam / September 20, 2013
I am very sad as a still Srilankan national that about our brothers and sisters of Srilankan still not matured or civilized, how to live in this scientifically advanced world wise fully and happily after lots of happened among them as lessons due to their wrong policies attitudes and activities. To bring the peace and harmony to the societies first,the leaders and political parties to drop the thinking of revenge attitude forget the past and think about their communities future life with flexible mind. Actually I was against the separation of our motherland as a small beautiful Island paradise. but now after I have seen the last war in Srilanka I prefer to have separation to have a peaceful life after a long ethnic problem, beneficial to both ethnic communities in Srilanka as Tamilelam and Srilanka after recognized by international communities.
/