Detainee Krishnapillai Selvaranjan began a hunger strike a month earlier but ended the fast after promises that his concerns will be considered. The prisoners are demanding visits from Economic Reform minister Milinda Moragoda and Mannar Bishop Rayappu Joseph, who on an earlier visit pledged to have their cases expedited.
The detainees also request transfer to prisons in their home districts in the north-east and want their cases also to be moved to local courts. These demands come amidst continuing allegations of sexual abuse of Tamil women detained under the PTA in Welikada prison in Colombo, by jail guards.
The prisoners say their cases are delayed despite the establishment of a special court to handle PTA cases. PTA cases have been transferred to the special court, but are often postponed because the judge is also presiding over the high profile Udathalawinne case in which former Deputy Defence minister Anuruddha Ratwatte and his sons are accused of involvement in the murder of ten Muslim people in December 2001.
The situation of a detainee from Batticaloa District demonstrates the problem. The case was filed in December 1998 and postponed on several occasions. It was taken up for hearing before the special high court in November 2002. It has been postponed on three occasions and the next hearing is on 11 March. Meanwhile, accusations have been made that monies sent by expatriate Tamils to help the detainees in their cases have not been utilized for the purpose. Sources say that some lawyers and Sri Lankan politicians are involved in the racket.
The issue of PTA detainees has been taken up at the peace talks. Both parties have asked international expert Ian Martin to draft a set of human rights standards designed to help direct further progress towards a negotiated settlement. But human rights observers say that the government and the LTTE are not keen on working out details of a human rights framework. These observers believe that sustained pressure from civil society and the international community is needed for real progress.
US activist Alan Keenan says that protection of witnesses and complainants is central to any system of human rights monitoring. This has been a problem for anyone seeking to challenge the impunity with which those in power - whether security forces or militants - are able to commit human rights abuses. He advocates the formation of a committee of Sri Lankans and internationals who would commit themselves to speaking out regularly and strongly on human rights issues.