Calls For UN Inquiry into Sri Lankan War Crimes Bolstered by UK Video Evidence

By Brian Lanciault

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka–Britain has joined the US and three other countries in pushing for a full international inquiry into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka.  The announcement came Sunday, after the Sri Lankan government failed to satisfy international calls for an inquiry.

Protesters gather in Geneva in opposition to U.S.-led UN probe into Sri Lankan war crimes, now joined by the U.K. (Photo Courtesy of AFP)

In an announcement last November at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Colombo, David Cameron gave Sri Lanka four months to conduct “a credible, thorough inquiry” into crimes alleged to have been committed during Sri Lanka’s 26-year civil war.

The Prime Minister’s office said on Sunday that Sri Lanka had failed to fulfill the request. The UK had joined four other countries in tabling a motion at the UN Human Rights Council. The UK now fully supports the call by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for an international, independent investigation into violations of human rights and related crimes by both sides during the war.

A vote on the resolution is expected to take place at the end of this month.

A spokesperson for the PM added: “Ahead of the vote, we are working hard to secure support from other countries. The PM has personally written to a number of leaders whose countries are on the human rights council this session calling on them to support this resolution which would help to deliver progress on reconciliation and human rights in Sri Lanka.”

Sri Lanka has historically refused to allow the UN unrestricted access to former war zones.

The Sri Lankan army extinguished Tamil Tiger separatist forces in the final battle of a long civil war in 2009, in a strategy partly drawn up by President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s brother, the Defense Secretary, Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

About 300,000 civilians were trapped on a narrow beach during the onslaught and the UN panel has estimated that 40,000 non-combatants died.  Although both sides are alleged to have committed atrocities, the panel concluded that army shelling killed most civilian victims.

Since the end of the war, harassment of government critics, including attacks on journalists and human rights workers have continued. A heavy army presence in the former Tamil Tiger strongholds in the north of the country angers contributes to tensions with local ethnic Tamils, who feel they are treated as enemies of the state.

On Sunday, UK Channel 4 News said it had obtained new evidence which it, and Tamil campaigners, have said demonstrated that an underlying culture of systematic brutality and sexual violence existed within the ranks of the Sri Lankan military.

The footage was reported to have been filmed by a soldier on a mobile phone, and was said to show troops laughing and cheering as they celebrated the deaths of Tamil insurgents.  The footage also depicts the soldiers performing acts of grotesque sexual violation on the bodies.

Channel 4 News has continued to report on what it said was evidence, in the form of various pieces of footage, of the apparently systematic execution and sexual violation of prisoners.

The Sri Lankan government has claimed that the footage was doctored, manipulated, or falsified by Tamil insurgents dressed as government soldiers and speaking Sinhala, the language of the vast majority of government soldiers.

For more information, please see:

The Guardian–Britain joins call for UN to investigate alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka–9 March 2014

Australia Network News–Sri Lanka warns against UN war crimes inquiries–11 March 2014

Times Sri Lanka–Protests in Geneva for Sri Lanka war crimes probe–11 March 2014

Arab News–4,000 Tamils protest in Geneva for Sri Lanka war crimes probe–10 March 2014

UK 4 News–Sri Lanka: new video evidence of grotesque violations–9 March 2014

Tensions Exasperated as Rival Demonstrations Held All Across Ukraine

by Tony Iozzo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

Sevastopol, UKRAINE – Activists supporting Russian occupation of Ukraine attacked a group of pro-Ukraine activists in the Crimean city of Sevastopol on Sunday.

The Pro-Russian rally in Simferopol. (Photo courtesy of Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty)

Hundreds of activists flooded the streets on Sunday to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the life of Ukranian poet Taras Shevchenko. Pro-Russian demonstrators intervened and attacked the activists with clubs and whips.

Russian forces have occupied the Crimean region in Ukraine for roughly a week as of Sunday. The latest violence occurs amidst rival demonstrations all across the Ukraine on Sunday. Rival protests both in support of Ukrainian independence and against it peacefully occurred in Crimea’s capital city of Simferopol.

Former opposition leader Vitali Klitschko stated that the Ukraine should not be allowed to split over the current violence during a speech in the city of Donetsk. “The key priority today for all Ukrainians is to unite, to come together and to prevent provocations, prevent separatists from realizing their plans, which are partition of the country and loss of independence.”

During Klitschko’s speech, several thousand protestors gathered at Donetsk’s Lenin Square and marched to the administration building after it was seized twice this week by pro-Russian activists. The protestors lowered the Ukraine flag and raised the Russian flag.

In Kyiv, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk stated to a group of thousands that the Ukraine would not willingly cede its territory to Russia. “This is our land, our parents and grandparents spilled their blood for this land. We will not give up a single centimeter of Ukrainian land. Let Russia and Russian President [Vladimir Putin] know this.”

Prime Minister Yatsenyuk later also stated that he would be traveling to Washington, D.C. this week to discuss the impasse with Russia. U.S. President Barack Obama will meet with Yatsenyuk on the 12th to discuss the situation. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry telephoned Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday to advise that any steps taken by Russia to annex Crimea to Russia would close diplomatic relations with the United States.

Russia is continuing to exercise greater control over Crimea. Ukraine’s State Border Service stated that Russian military forces took control of a Ukrainian border guard post early this morning, and now control eleven border guard posts in Crimea.

Pro-Russian authorities in Crimea have called a referendum to be held on the 16th to decide on whether to split from Ukraine and join Russia.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted from office last month after months of protests against his free-trade agreement with the European Union. Russian military forces quickly after Yanukovych left office.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has defended the planned referendum to European leaders.

For information, please see:

9News World – Violent Clashes at Rival Ukraine Rallies – 9 March 2014

Al Jazeera – Ukraine Plans Rallies as Crisis Deepens – 9 March 2014

BBC News – Ukraine Gripped by Rival Rallies – 9 March 2014

Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty – Ukraine Clashes as Rival Rallies Boost Tensions – 9 March 2014