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Where
death is not a great leveller By Chandani
Kirinde, Faraza Farook and Christopher Kamalendran
However, this
very basic of rights is blatantly violated by the state itself in
the discriminatory manner in which it compensates victims of terrorist
attacks and violence. A Sunday Times investigation revealed several
families of victims have been deprived of compensation for death,
injury or loss of property where as it has been a cake walk for
those categorized as VIP solely due to their political affiliations. While public servants and the people are faced with bureaucratic delays, politicians have been handsomely rewarded millions of rupees with the easy passage of the funds through a Cabinet decision. The latest such beneficiaries were the wife and son of the late SLMC leader and Minister M.H.M. Ashraff. They were paid seven million rupees by a special Cabinet paper two weeks ago. Another such
controversial compensation payment followed the death of Minister
C.V. Gooneratne and his wife. Twenty-three others died in the same
blast in Dehiwela, but not all the affected families have been compensated. The Rehabilitation
of Persons, Properties and Industrial Authority (REPPIA) which assists
persons affected by war, ethnic violence, terrorist attacks and
those who are displaced due to security operations in all parts
of the country except the North, states it is faced with a serious
shortage of funds. "We are
in need of more than Rs. 850 million to settle death, injury and
property compensation claims alone. But we have less than Rs. five
million allocated for this year," REPPIA Deputy Director V.
Hussein said. He said since the signing of the ceasefire agreement,
the number of applications for compensation had increased. Of the thousands
of cases pending payment, many come from poor families. The case of
Manjula Wickremasinghe (33), a mother of a six-year-old boy is a
classic example of the discrimination that the ordinary man or woman
faces after being a victim of violence. Having lost one eye during
the Central Bank bomb blast, Manjula received only Rs. 12,500 from
the government as compensation. "My other
eye is getting weaker and I have to constantly wet my eyes to keep
them clean from dust and tiredness. Otherwise, I suffer from blackouts".
Manjula's little finger on the right hand is broken, but the government
is refusing to pay compensation. "It took a year to get Rs.
12,500. I was sent from one place to another and I was pregnant
at the time. If I am to fight for more, I'll have to suffer for
years," she said. Manjula argues
that she is entitled to a higher compensation having lost an eye
and the sight in the other eye rapidly deteriorating. "I often
feel the gravity of the loss of sight. Sometimes when I cross the
road, there are drivers shouting at me 'are you blind?' and it makes
me depressed". Twenty nine-year
old Jonisten Jesudhasan is in a waiting list for surgery at the
Colombo National Hospital. In 1993, Jesudhasan and his friend in
an attempt to leave Vavuniya to flee to Madhu were caught in an
artillery shell attack at Thandikulam. Mr. Jesudhasan's friend died
on the spot while he received severe injuries to his legs and body. Shrapnel from
the blast is still inside in his body, especially in his leg, making
it difficult for him to walk or stand for long. "I lost everything
- my home, my business - everything. I was in hospital for more
than a year and with more surgeries to be done to remove shrapnel,
I have been put on a waiting list. Doctors say that my legs won't
be normal even after surgery," Mr. Jesudhasan laments. Although Mr.
Jesudhasan applied for compensation and was promised payment, nearly
a decade after the incident he still waits hoping that the government
would sooner or later make some payment. Eighteen-year-old
Gopal Ruhulan is paralysed below the waist and is receiving treatment
at the Rheumatology and Rehabilitation Hospital in Ragama. A victim
of the North East war, Gopal was ten years' old when he lost his
mother, grandmother, brother and sister in a tragedy in Jaffna. Kandiah Gopalakrishnan
(53), Gopal's father, also suffered injuries to his neck and arm
during the attack. The injuries had left Kandiah unable to do any
heavy work and with his son disabled, he is full time engaged in
taking care of Gopal. Kandiah also suffers from memory loss after
the blast. Kandiah's wife
was pregnant at the time of her death. Although both Kandiah and
Gopal lost all their family members, the government paid them only
Rs. 50,000. According to the compensation scheme, Kandiah is entitled
compensation for the loss of each family member, but his appeals
have fallen on dead ears. The doctor's
report given to Gopal clearly states that he has lost 100 percent
earning capacity, but he has received no compensation. Kandiah relies
on funds from NGOs and philanthropists to pay fortests and surgeries
for Gopal. It is only
the victims and their families who know the difficulties faced in
getting what is rightfully theirs. The tedious procedure involved
in making an application itself delays the process. Medical reports,
Coroner's report, post mortem report, certification from the Grama
Sevaka, the Divisional Secretary and a JP (Justice of Peace) are
some of the essentials required in making an application. It is little wonder that the people's faith in the Constitution which enshrines all their rights is fast deteriorating and is seen more as a set of words limited to paper or to the rich and powerful elite. Governments
come and go but not compensation They are qualified under a 1998 scheme which has retrospective effect from 1977. The pending cases for those affected by election violence in the death and injury category stand at 421 while those in the property damage category stand at 5,891. The amounts
required to settle the pending claims stands at a little over Rs14.7
million for the death and injury victims while Rs300 million is
needed for the property loss claims. However REPPIA
has enough funds within its budget allocations for 2003 to settle
the claims of only 25 death and injury claimants and only four in
the property compensation category. Millions of
rupees have already been paid out since the introduction of this
scheme, which covers those affected by election violence starting
from the day of nomination in relation to all general, presidential,
provincial and local government elections since 1977 and the 1982
referendum.. The scheme also covers victims of election related
violence that occurs within a month after the conclusion of a poll. The total amount
paid upto last year was Rs 4.5 million in the death and injury category
in respect of 83 cases while Rs37.3 million has been paid in respect
of 790 cases of property damage. Last year alone,
a total of Rs1.8 million was paid for death and injury victims of
election violence while the property compensation paid for the period
stood at Rs 2.06 million. Those considered
for payment of compensation under this scheme are both successful
and unsuccessful candidates, approved election agents i.e. agents
at polling booths and members of the public who suffer death or
injury as a result of election related violence. The maximum
compensation that is paid for candidates (successful/unsuccessful)
is Rs. 500,000 (death) Rs.150,000 (injury), approved election agent
Rs. 100, 000 (death) Rs. 75,000 (injury), and those not coming under
these two categories Rs. 50,000 (death/injury). |
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