Sri Lanka’s tragedy

The Sri Lankan government must allow a UN investigation into the fate of the disappeared

Sri Lanka will host a Commonwealth summit in a fortnight, yet the country has more 'outstanding cases' of disappearances than anywhere in the world apart from Iraq Photo: AFP/Getty Images

The agony endured by the loved ones of missing people can scarcely be imagined. Instead of being allowed to grieve and come to terms with their loss, they must live in suspense without knowing the fate of a child, wife or husband. Sri Lanka will host a Commonwealth summit in a fortnight, yet the country has more “outstanding cases” of disappearances than anywhere in the world apart from Iraq. No fewer than 5,676 names appear on a United Nations list: more than in Argentina after the “dirty war” of the Seventies, or in Colombia after decades of abductions by drug barons and Marxist insurgents.

Some of Sri Lanka’s disappeared are Tamil rebels who fought in the 26-year civil war; others are innocents who were caught up in the turmoil. Then there are recent cases such as that of Prageeth Eknaligoda, a journalist who was abducted two days before the last election in 2010. He was known for writing critical articles about President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

This deeply compromised leader will host David Cameron and the Prince of Wales at the Commonwealth summit. Allowing Sri Lanka to stage this gathering was never sensible, but that decision cannot be reopened; nor would a British boycott be wise. Instead, the Prime Minister should use his visit to made one categorical demand: that the Sri Lankan government must allow a UN investigation into the fate of the disappeared.

Mr Rajapaksa has set up his own commission , but no government can be trusted to investigate itself. The relatives of the missing deserve an independent and international inquiry, empowered to discover the fate of each outstanding case. How could anyone oppose this? Mr Cameron should seize the opportunity to make this reasonable and realistic demand.