The cycle of impunity continues in Sri Lanka two years after the end of the conflict
7 September 2011
The Sri Lankan government's inquiry into the country's civil war is fundamentally flawed and provides no accountability for atrocities, according to a new Amnesty International report.
When will they get justice? exposes the shortcomings of the inquiry, the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC). These include its failure to properly pursue allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity levelled against both government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
"The Sri Lankan government has, for almost two years, used the LLRC as its trump card in lobbying against an independent international investigation. Officials described it as a credible accountability mechanism, able to deliver justice and promote reconciliation. In reality it's flawed at every level: in mandate, composition and practice," said Amnesty International's Asia Pacific Director, Sam Zarifi.
When will they get justice? exposes the shortcomings of the inquiry, the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC). These include its failure to properly pursue allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity levelled against both government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
"The Sri Lankan government has, for almost two years, used the LLRC as its trump card in lobbying against an independent international investigation. Officials described it as a credible accountability mechanism, able to deliver justice and promote reconciliation. In reality it's flawed at every level: in mandate, composition and practice," said Amnesty International's Asia Pacific Director, Sam Zarifi.
Amnesty International
Thousands of victims of Sri Lanka's brutal conflict have yet to receive justice
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Amnesty: UN Should Investigate Sri Lankan War Crimes
Wednesday, 7 September 2011
Amnesty International is urging the United Nations to establish a credible investigation into war crimes allegedly committed in Sri Lanka during the final phases of the country's civil war in 2009.
The London-based watchdog said Wednesday that Sri Lanka's official inquiry into the matter is “seriously flawed” and “falls short of international standards.”
The country's 26-year civil war ended in 2009 when government forces defeated Tamil Tiger rebels. Both sides are accused of committing war crimes, but Amnesty says most civilian casualties in the final phases of the war were caused by government shelling.
In May 2010, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa announced a national commission to investigate the allegations. The “Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission” is set to report its findings to the government this fall.
But Amnesty says the commission is unlikely to deliver justice for the “tens of thousands of victims of war crimes,” saying that the investigation has so far made no recommendation for bringing individuals to justice, and has failed to protect Sri Lankans who offer testimony.
The U.N. Human Rights Council is expected to discuss Sri Lanka at a three-week session starting on Monday. The U.N. panel previously labeled the commission “inadequate.”
Sri Lanka's government has denied the allegations of war crimes, saying that civilian deaths were impossible to avoid altogether, given the magnitude of the fighting and the “ruthlessness” of the opponent.
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It has also dismissed the idea of an international inquiry into the latter stages of the conflict as a waste of time.
The Amnesty report says it exposes the shortcomings of the inquiry carried out by Sri Lanka's Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC).Full Story>>>
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Amnesty report: Sri Lanka's civil war panel 'flawed
BBC
News South Asia
A government inquiry into Sri Lanka's civil war is "flawed at every level", providing no accountability for atrocities, says a new report.
The commission has not properly pursued allegations of war crimes committed by the army and Tamil
Tiger rebels, says the Amnesty International report.
The rebels were defeated in 2009 in a hard-fought end to their two-decade separatist war.
The government has yet to respond to the allegations.
But it has repeatedly argued that its forces behaved with complete discipline in the last months of the war.
It has also dismissed the idea of an international inquiry into the latter stages of the conflict as a waste of time.The Amnesty report says it exposes the shortcomings of the inquiry carried out by Sri Lanka's Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC).
Both sides are accused of widespread shellings of civilian areas during the war
