By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Managing Editor

 

SRI JAYAWARDENEPURA KOTTE, Sri Lanka – The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein accused the Sri Lankan government of trying to “sabotage” a war crimes inquiry by creating a “wall of fear” to prevent witnesses from giving evidence. The U.N. Human Rights Council set up an inquiry in March to investigate war crimes allegedly committed by both government forces and Tamil rebels, known as the Tamil Tigers, during the final stages of a 26-year war that ended in 2009. “The Government of Sri Lanka has refused point blank to cooperate with the investigation despite being explicitly requested by the Human Rights Council to do so,” Commissioner Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein said in his statement. “A wall of fear has been created that has undoubtedly served to deter people from submitting evidence,” he said.” “Such a refusal does not, however, undermine the integrity of an investigation set up by the Council – instead it raises concerns about the integrity of the government in question. Why would governments with nothing to hide go to such extraordinary lengths to sabotage an impartial international investigation?” The government has allegedly practiced surveillance and harassment intended to deter people from submitting evidence Commissioner Zeid said, calling it “unacceptable conduct for any member state of the United Nations which has committed to uphold the U.N. Charter.”

The government of Sri Lanka has refused to cooperate with the investigation into allegations of abuses by both government soldiers and members of the Tamil Tiger rebel organization. Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Gamini Peiris “expressed strong displeasure at the selective and biased approach” of the investigation and said it infringed “on the basic norms of justice and fair play.” Zeid rejected Peiris’s accusations, saying his office had many years of experience with similar inquiries into violations.

According to an earlier report published by the United Nations, as many as 40,000 ethnic Tamil civilians may were killed during the last months of the country’s quarter-century civil war. The report alleged both sides of the conflict bore responsibility for war crimes and other violations of human rights. The report claimed the government may have deliberately shelled civilians and hospitals as well as blocked food and medicine intended for civilians trapped in the war zone. The rebels were accused of recruiting child soldiers and using civilian populations as human shields. After resisting demands for an internal investigation for years, the Sri Lankan government appointed a three-member commission to inquire into cases of war disappearances.

The Sri Lankan Civil War was born out of the long history of ethnic conflict between the Island’s majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamil population. The Tamil minority faced a long history of civil and economic discrimination preventing social mobility and political participation. The Tamil militia, known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or the Tamil tigers became one of the first militia groups to use Suicide bombing as a terror tactic. The organization is listed as a terrorist organization by 32 countries including the United States which sent a military advisory team to the island in 2005. The Sri Lankan government responded harshly to the Tamil Tigers, it been accused on increasingly discriminating against the Tamil community, treating anyone from the community as a potential militant, including children.

For more information please see:

ABC News – UN Rights Chief Blasts Sri Lankan Attacks on Probe – 7 November 2014

The New York Times – U.N. Rights Chief Says Sri Lanka Is Obstructing – 7 November 2014

Reuters – U.N.’S Zeid Accuses Sri Lanka of Trying to Sabotage War Crimes Probe – 7 November 2014

United Nations News Centre – UN Rights Chief Condemns ‘Disinformation Campaign’ To Discredit Sri Lanka Probe – 7 November 2014