David L. Chaplin II
Impunity Watch, Asia
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – An independent mechanism was requested by the United States to investigate alleged War crimes and crimes against humanity caused by the Sri Lankan military as their civil war drew to a close.
A resolution was passed by the United States Senate calling on the current Sri Lankan administration and the international community to support the United Nations in putting plans together, holding Sri Lanka to an international standard of accountability against human right violations.
Senator Robert Casey presented the resolution as sympathetic to the Tamil cause.
As we approach the two-year anniversary for the end of the 26-year conflict between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Government of Sri Lanka, a “Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC)” was established by the Sri Lanka Government.
This LLRC was established to determine who bears responsibility for incidents that occurred between February 2002 and May 2009. The LLRC also recommends agencies to proactively prevent recurrences of a similar nature in the future, while promoting national unity for all communities.
Panels of Human Rights and International Law experts have been appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in counseling the Sri Lankan Government toward human rights accountability.
The Government of Sri Lanka must “allow humanitarian organizations, aid agencies, journalists, and international human rights groups’ greater freedom of movement, including in internally-displaced persons camps” and make strides in establishing a democracy rule of law.
The growing global voice of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees domiciled in the U.S. and European nations has created outcry for Sri Lanka to face an international commission and for alleged violations of international humanitarian laws.
The Sri Lankan Government claims no civilian were lost during military advances against Tamil separatists.
But, global rights group Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch possess evidence that an estimated 40,000 noncombatants lost their lives during the months of conflict.
The Sri Lankan military projects blame on the Tamil strike forces for their alleged use of nearly “300,000 civilians as human shields”.
Assistant secretary Blake told AFP in an interview “The point I would make is now here we are almost two years after the end of the war and still these kinds of challenges to, particularly to press freedoms and media freedoms continue. It’s a bit unusual and a bit counter-intuitive. Again, the LTTE is no longer a force to be reckoned with.
“It’s important to say that if Sri Lanka is not willing to meet international standards regarding these matters, there would be pressure to appoint an international commission to look into these things, ” says Blake.
This process has become more common in recent weeks as the United Nations Security Council recently passed a resolution unanimously against Libya and the referral of Moammar Qadhafi to the International Criminal Court to impartially investigate suspected war crimes as well as strong arm abuses against his people.
Senate Resolution 84 is a simple resolution, and “although it is non-binding, it does express the concerns of American lawmakers that the government of Sri Lanka provide a credible and fair mechanism of ensuring accountability for possible violations of human rights during the war,” a US Embassy official told the Daily Mirror.
For more information, please see:
Hindustan Times – US call for probe in Lanka – 3 March 2011
Asian Tribune – US Senate/ State Department in consensus to bring Sri Lanka under global scrutiny for alleged war crimes – 3 March 2011
– US call for independent mechanism – 3 March 2011
Colombo Page – US Senate resolution expressing support for reconciliation in Sri Lanka introduced – 2 March 2011
Tamil Net – US Senate Resolution calls for accountability for Sri Lanka war crimes – 2 March 2011
Times Online – US Senate resolution backs Lanka war crimes panel – 2 March 2011
