Sri Lankan government gets UN probe report on war crimes

Exacerbating this deep wound was the inflexible stand of its previous president Mahinda Rajapakse, who refused to allow a United Nations probe into the matter despite severe worldwide pressure, placing Sri Lanka in an unenviable position on the global stage.

According to local media reports, the report has made strong indictments against both the troops and the Tamil Tiger rebels over purported war crimes alleged to have taken place in the final months of the country’s civil war.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully has welcomed the Sri Lankan Government’s announcement it will establish a Truth & Reconciliation Commission to help the country recover from its decades-long civil war.

Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, told the 30th session of the UNHRC on Monday, “This Council has been deeply engaged with the need for accountability, as a necessary step towards reconciliation in that country”.

The victory of the United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG) at the Parliamentary election last month, enabled President Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to form a National Unity Government.

Rights groups say Sri Lanka has failed to address continuing incidents of torture by the police and military against minority Tamils, whose leaders call for an worldwide investigation.

For years, the idea that the Sri Lankan government could account for its own human rights abuses was laughable.

Of particular significance to India will be the issue of Sri Lanka.

“We have seen a steep increase”, Ruecker said, adding it reflects the “success story of the HRC and the trust that member states have put into the structure and the mechanism”. The film will travel to Washington, DC, and then Geneva, where it will be screened in the Palais de Nation, the Human Rights Council’s headquarters.

“I think you have to look at the particular angle which we cover, which is, the human rights angle. Let us not be afraid to engage in meaningful dialogue aimed at finding solutions to problems as opposed to pointing fingers, heaping blame and scoring political points at the expense of future generations”, Samaraweera said. “The injustice against the Tamils continues even today, at this very moment”, they said.

He said he is confident the credibility of the armed forces will be restored as the current government pursues a political settlement addressing the grievances of the Tamil people.