By Alishba I. Kassim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – After Sri Lanka’s final victory over the Tamil Tiger rebels, the country continues to grapple with the issue of postwar resettlement.
Approximately 280,000 Tamil civilians remain detained, finding themselves living inside barbed wire fences in large tents. Despite challenges to their detention from various human rights agencies, the government maintains that their detention is an imperative security measure. Security in the detention facilities continues to be tightened with limited humanitarian access. Vehicles of aid organizations have been barred after the military suggested they were smuggling out members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
Resettlement remains an issue for the Sri Lankan government who have not yet produced a clear plan. No details have been shared with the UN who have ample experience in this area and are willing to provide greater assistance.
The Sri Lankan government has maintained a closed door policy on these matters and have publicly refuted accusations of mismanagement and human rights violations during and after the fighting. There has been little or no probe of the military’s tactics during the fighting, and claims implicating the army’s indiscriminate shelling of civilians have been swept under the rug. Earlier this week a presidential panel set up to investigate human rights abuses during the fighting was also shut down.
Sri Lanka maintains a firm stance on state sovereignty since it has often been undermined in developing countries by the world’s super powers. However that being said, some level of intervention is necessary in order to investigate and respond to matters of human rights – especially when 280,000 displaced civilians are at stake.
For more information, please see:
Christian Science Monitor – Sri Lanka’s Post-war Resettlement Stalls – June 19, 2009
NPR – Sri Lankan Tamils Ponder Future – June 19, 2009
Tamil Sydney – Rising Threat of Post-war Disappearances – June 19, 2009
The Hindu – Sri Lanka Not to Allow Visits to Tamil Camps – June 19, 2009
