AFAD Statement on the 22nd Anniversary of the Monument of the Disappeared in Sri Lanka
The Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) conveys its solidarity with the families, relatives and friends of the disappeared in Sri Lanka during its 22nd commemoration of remembering and honoring the disappeared at the Monument of the Disappeared in Seeduwa-Raddolugama junction, District of Gampaha (Western Province). This gathering is an important occasion for the relatives and friends of the disappeared to seek strength from each other in their continued search for truth and justice for their disappeared loved ones.
This is also an occasion to remind the government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa of his duty to protect the human rights of its people amidst continuing rampant cases of disappearances in the country. The President, in the late 1998, was then the Minister of Fisheries. As guest speaker of the gathering of the disappeared, he made a promise at The Monument that when he becomes President, disappearances will not be allowed. Obviously, this promise has been totally forgotten. Worse still, he was one of the champions of the disappeared and their families during the disappearances of the late 80s and the early 90s when he co-founded the then Organization of Parents and Family Members of the Disappeared (OPFMD). Ironically, during his administration as president of the country, disappearances continue unabated with each passing day.
The AFAD joins the members of the Families of the Disappeared (FOD) and all other relatives and friends of the disappeared in the country in asking accountability from the President Mahindra Rajapaksa of the unresolved past and recent cases of disappearances. Justice has to be served. The victims’ memories should not be forgotten.
The 22nd anniversary of the Monument of the Disappeared underscores its importance, like many memorial sites across the country and in other parts of the world with similar experiences of the phenomenon of enforced disappearances. These memorials are important symbols to remind the country and its people of the cruelties of the past and present governments and of their callousness in doing nothing amidst the continuing climate of impunity, thus perpetuating the commission of this very cruel form of human rights violation. Amidst malicious attempts to forget those who should never be forgotten, the monument is a form of reconstructing the historical memory of the disappeared whose fate remains unknown.
The Monument in Seeduwa is a sculptured human figure which has become a sacred place where relatives offer flowers and candles below posted pictures of their disappeared loved ones. The nameless human figure represents their sons, daughters, husbands, wives and friends who disappeared – some in the early 80s, and early 90s, while many others have recently disappeared under the current administration. It is located within the premises of the Parish of St. Cecilia, under the Archdiocese of Colombo.
For the families and relatives, The Monument, and similar memorials are sacred spaces for connecting with the memories of their loved ones; for mourning; for praying; for hoping and gaining strength to continue with their struggle for truth, justice, reparation, redress and non-repetition.
NO ONE HAS THE RIGHT TO DESTROY THIS SACRED PLACE! Unfortunately, since last year, officers of the Parish of St. Cecilia made moves to block and discourage commemorative events at The Monument. They wanted it to be destroyed on flimsy grounds that it is built on church premises. The AFAD sees this as part of an effort to cover up the unfulfilled promise of the current administration to stamp out enforced disappearances and other forms of human rights violations. It nevertheless reflects the sad state of human rights situation in the country.
The AFAD considers today’s gathering as a reminder to the key officials of the parish of St. Cecilia and Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of the Archdiocese of Colombo of the important role of the church as sanctuary for the poor and the oppressed. A number of Catholic priests in Sri Lanka laid down their lives to fight for justice in the country. The Monument also serves as a symbol for all of us, including the Church of St. Cecilia and the Archdiocese of Colombo headed by Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, of the valuable contribution of the many Catholic priests of Sri Lanka in the defense of human rights. The Monument is a reminder that a church is only a physical structure just like any other building if it loses its essential value as a church of the people, a place for solace and worship, a sanctuary for the deserted – regardless of ethnicity and religious affiliation.
The AFAD encourages the relatives and friends of the disappeared to keep on with its fight for truth, justice, reparation, redress, memory and non-repetition and not be deterred by moves to destroy their collective strength just as what the officers of the Parish of St. Cecilia are doing.
Keep the Faith! Be inspired by the humble gains you have made from your collective strength in the campaign against enforced or involuntary disappearances!
Lastly, AFAD calls on the government to RESPECT THE RIGHT of the relatives and friends of the disappeared to a space for collective remembering and honoring and DISSUADE the officers and parish priest of St. Cecilia and the Catholic hierarchy of the Archdiocese of Colombo from destroying The Monument of the Disappeared.
The struggle of memory against for forgetting must continue to grow in the physical presence of the Monument of the Disappeared in Sri Lanka and in its profound significance for the disappeared and their families!
Signed by:
MUGIYANTO
Chairperson
and
MARY AILEEN DIEZ- BACALSO
Secretary-General