Exchange of letters with Amnesty International regarding my son's release was published in the Saturday Review News paper on 12 Sep 1987

Exchange of letters with Amnesty International regarding my son's release was published in the Saturday Review News paper on 12 Sep 1987

Mother Appeals To AI To Help Release Son

We publish here an exchange of letters between Amnesty International and a detainee's mother. The letters are self-explanatory.

Mrs.  Valliammai Subramaniam

Kandamai

Tholpuram

Chulipuram

13th August 1987

Dear Madam,

As you know on 29th July Sri Lanka and India reached an agreement on the ethnic problem in Sri Lanka. Part of the agreement is an amnesty the Sri Lankan Government has announced for all detained, charged and convicted political prisoners held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and Emergency Regulations. As of writing the first hundreds of  political prisoners are being released and returned to northern Sri Lanka.

Amnesty International would like to monitor the release program as closely as possible, since its members have been working on behalf of many prisoners detained with armed conflict.

Kindly do inform us, as soon as possible, whether Sathiarajan Subramaniam, your son, has been included in the release program and confirm his safe return home. Should this be at all possible we would like also to receive detailed accounts of his arrest and detention, and the conditions in which he was held and interrogated.

Yours sincerely,

Yvonne Terlingen

Asia Research Department

Amnesty International

"Mrs. Terlingen (born in Amsterdam, 1945 and died of cancer aged 75, 2020) worked for the London-based International Secretariat of Amnesty International, where she was Researcher for South-Asia (from 1972 to 1995) dealing with many victims of human rights violations and their care. During that period, she often acted as Head of the Asia Region, and represented Amnesty International at many international conferences and meetings such as the UN Commission on Human Rights (1989 and 1995) or the Human Rights Committee (1991)."

1st September 1987

Dear Madam,

I wish to thanks you for your kind letter dated 13th August, 1987 and wish to state as follows:

My son, Subramanam Sathiarajan alias Meeran Master was arrested on the 11th day of December 1984 by the Sri Lankan Security Forces near my home and is presently in remand jail at the Magazine Prison, Colombo-09. He is my eldest son and 25 years of age.

On his arrest he was held first at the Army Camp at the Old Dutch Fort, Jaffna. Theareafter he was transferred to the Army Camp, Palaly, Jaffna. During this period I was permitted a few visits and was allowed to talk to my son only in the presence of army personnel.

However, my son was able to say a few things in veiled terms and that he had been continuously subjected to torture abd third degree methods.

On representation made by my son's Attorney-at-law Mr.T.C. Rajaratnam, a case was filed against him by the  Attorney-General of Sri Lanka. But before the case was filed my son was taken from Palaly Army Camp to Boosa Army Camp and was given a Code No. J4//55. It was after the case was filed that he was brought to the Magazine Prison, Colombo-09.

He was charged in the High Court of Colombo under the P.T.A. and the Emergency Regulations on July 9th, 1987. Case numbers are as follows: 485/85. 484/85 and 2680/87, 2679/87.

The next date of trials are on 11th and 22nd of September, 1987. Upto the date of this letter his name has not been included in the release programme.

In this connection, I wish to kindly refer you to a letter written by Father Apranam Singarayar, O.M.I, on his release from the Magazine Prison, consequent to the agreement on the ethnic problem. In his letter to the Prime Minister of India the Catholic Father had stated that there are about 260 Tamil Political Prisoners in the Magazine Prison kept alongside with the Sinhalese Prisoners and that these Tamil Prisoners may be killed at any moment by the Sinhalese Prisoners and have requested the Prime Minister of India to secure the immediate release of these Tamil Political Prisoners.

Since reading this appeal in the Newspapers I have lost all hopes of my son's release and I fear for the safety of his life.

I would therefore most humbly beg of you to take whatever action you deem fit to have may son's release effected immediately and save his life and relieve me my mental anguish.

As a mother I would be very grateful to you personally and to the Amnesty International to intervene and safeguard the lives of other Tamil Political Prisoners in various prisons in Sri Lanka and secure their release at the earliest opportunity so that hundreds of mothers like me will be spared the mental and physical anguish they are undergoing at the moment.

In haste and anguish, I had already forwarded a letter dated 28th August 1987, without adducing sufficient cogent reasonsfor the release of my son. Hence, I am forwarding this further appeal.

I remain

Yours truly,

Mrs.  Valliammai Subramaniam

 

Note:  Hon. Minister Douglas Devanada's father Mr.S. Kathirvelu help me to write these letters in English. I take this opportunity to thank Mr.S. Kathirvelu.

Also Hon. Justice Tellipalai Wanarajah Rajaratnam's son Attorney-at-law Mr.T.C. Rajaratnam,  represented for free of cost in the High Court of Colombo. My sincere thanks to Attorney-at-law Mr.T.C. Rajaratnam for helping to release my son without charging any fees.