UN Accuses Sri Lanka of War Crimes

By Shayne R. Burnham
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka The United Nations (UN) calls upon the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to stop the war in the northeast.  The UN believes that war crimes have been committed.

Navi Pillay, UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, stated, “Certain actions being undertaken by the Sri Lankan military and the LTTE may constitute violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.”  She continued, “The brutal and inhuman treatment of civilians by the LTTE is utterly reprehensible and should be examined to see if it constitutes war crimes.”

The UN accused the military of shelling safe zones to protect civilians.  The UN also accused the LTTE of using civilians as human shields and shooting those civilians who attempt to escape.

The Sri Lankan minister of human rights, Mahinda Samarasinghe, spoke for the government and said that the UN misrepresented the number of civilian casualties.

“We have very clearly stated that we have not at any time fired at the no-fire zone,” Samarasinghe said.  “We are very disappointed and we are very surprised that this kind of unprofessional statement has been issued,” he added.

But B. Nadesan, political leader of the LTTE, claims that the total number of casualties is much higher than the UN’s estimate.  Moreover, they have proof of the government’s crimes of “deliberately targeting civilians, their humanitarian supplies and the hospitals.”  “There are thousands of evidences among the civilians, officials and local aid workers.  The ICRC [International Committee of the Red Cross] has witnessed the Sri Lankan attacks on the civilians,” said Nadesan.  He added that the witnesses would be able to provide detailed accounts of how civilians are “jailed inside barbed wire internment camps” and “hundreds of civilians have gone missing.”

According to Human Rights Watch, parties to a conflict must take all necessary precautions to minimize civilian casualties, yet “[t]he government shows callous indifference by saying civilians should not expect the government to consider their safety and security” when they fail to enter the safety zones.

For more information, please see:

BBC – UN Fears Sri Lanka ‘War Crimes’ – 13 March 2009

Human Rights Watch – Sri Lanka: Disregard for Civilian Safety Appalling – 3 February 2009

TamilNet – Nadesan Urges UN to Investigate Colomb’s War Crimes – 15 March 2009

Author: Impunity Watch Archive