attention of the Sri Lankan authorities. The activities that the authors profess
to have performed under duress for LTTE are trivial in nature and extent.
Additional observations by the author
5.1 By letter of 10 April 2000, the authors restate their contention that they
have demonstrated substantial grounds for believing that they are at personal
risk of torture, thereby putting the State party in breach of article 3 of the
Convention in the event of a return.
5.2 The authors claim that both parents left the country, separately, on false
passports and therefore did not experience any problems in leaving. They
contest the State party's claim that the authorities impute no political
involvement to them, stating that while they were not officially members of
any group, both were suspected of connections to LTTE. Mr. S.S. was
suspected of spying for LTTE and being in Colombo with ill intentions,
while Mrs. S.A. was accused of working for LTTE and employed to identify
LTTE members at roadblocks. In this regard, the authors contend that the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs report ascribes a risk of being held for more than
a week to Tamils suspected of having knowledge of LTTE.
5.3 As to Mr. S.S.'s account, the authors reject the State party's assertion
that, upon Mr. S.S.'s release from police custody, he was free to do as he
pleased and that they had no special interest in him; how could this be the
case if he had to report to the police daily? The authors reject the State
party's classification, in the absence of proof, of Mr. S.S.'s placement on the
Boosa transfer list as "implausible", claiming that such a conclusion does
not follow simply from being released after a day. Nor, claim the authors,
had Mr. S.S.'s statements during the asylum procedure previously been
doubted or considered implausible, nor had there been a request for further
information on this aspect. There was therefore no reason to doubt this
particular important statement. Similarly, simply because the account of the
death of Mr. S.S.'s father was perhaps mistakenly transcribed did not make
the statement unreliable.
5.4 As to Mrs. S.A.'s account, the authors wish to underline that she had told
the authorities that she had been forced to work for LTTE, and the State
party's statement that she cannot be regarded as an LTTE activist cannot be
substantiated. The State party allegedly ignores her use as an informer to
denounce alleged LTTE members. Concerning her uncle's death, the authors
claim that, while unable to produce a death certificate, there is no reason to
doubt the information. The District Court's judgement on witness credibility
is no reason to doubt her statements, which the authors contend had never
been doubted by the State party. Therefore, Mrs. S.A. ought to be given the
benefit of the doubt on this issue.