Enquiries in respect of 374 cases commenced, but could not proceed due to inadequacy of evidence, according to the Ministry. In early December, the Ministry sent out letters to the relatives saying that it cannot establish the fate or whereabouts of the 374 people arrested by the Army in Jaffna.
Reports say that most of the relatives have refused to accept these letters saying that this is another attempt to end the investigations. In an early December letter to President Chandrika, Amnesty International urged the government to make public the findings of the Board of Investigation so that they can be verified. Amnesty says the findings of the Board do not inspire public confidence.
Relatives have been told that the fate of at least two of the disappeared is not known, even though their bodies were among those exhumed and identified in June at Chemmani. Amnesty has also called on the government to seek international expertise in forensic criminal investigation, including DNA testing, to help bring the killers to justice.
In the run-up to the LTTE’s annual Great Heroes Day on 27 November, the security forces in Jaffna carried out search operations and arrested a number of young people. Manipai resident Yoganathan Mohanadas and Anaikottai engineering student Devadas Turin were detained on 10 November. The Army arrested two young women, E Padmini of Neerveli and S Sugarmila of Madduvil in mid-November.
The office of the Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission (HRC) in Jaffna received 67 complaints of human rights violations in November, including 57 against the security forces. According to reports, the security forces shot dead a boy on bicycle in Chavakachcheri on 2 November. It has been complained to the HRC that two refugees who arrived in Gurunagar in a boat from the Vanni were arrested on 19 November.
The police arrested Radha Saluja, 21, on 29 November in Thirunelveli. When relatives contacted the police, they were informed that she will be released only if her husband, who is a LTTE suspect, surrenders. N Balaruban of Chunnakam and T Prabhakaran went missing in November. The security forces have denied arresting them. Following demonstrations by Jaffna University students, Selvanayagam Sutharsan, who was arrested in October on charges of possessing firearms, was released on bail on the recommendations of the Attorney General.