cphr.net

Human rights groups have expressed serious concern about the situation in Sri Lanka.

The Elders, an independent group of retired global leaders currently chaired by South African Desmond Tutu, issued a statement on Sri Lanka. "The ongoing persecution and disappearances of human rights activists, journalists and government opponents is truly terrifying," Tutu said.

The Elders also expressed concern about the detention of about "8,000 suspected ex-combatants without charge or access to legal representation, their families or independent monitors," the continuation of wartime emergency laws, as well as the "lack of action by the government to address the political marginalization of ethnic minorities that was at the root of Sri Lanka's 30 years of war."

The international Crisis Group has issued a report on war crimes in Sri Lanka. They found, "reasonable grounds to believe the Sri Lankan security forces committed war crimes with top government and military leaders potentially responsible. There is evidence of war crimes committed by the LTTE and its leaders as well, but most of them were killed and will never face justice."

Crisis Group says they have credible evidence that government forces engaged in the intentional shelling of civilians, hospitals and humanitarian operations.

Former Canadian Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour heads Crisis Group.

The U.K.'s Channel 4 has presented videos that it claimed showed the summary execution of naked Tamils by Sri Lankan soldiers near the end of the war. The Sri Lankan government said they conducted four separate investigations that determined the video was "fake." But in January a UN investigation concluded the evidence strongly suggests that the video is authentic.

According to Human Rights Watch, "the Sri Lankan government has failed to undertake any meaningful investigation of violations of the laws of war."

According to the Sri Lankan government's website, Foreign Minister Gamini Peiris, "has slammed the International Crisis Group, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other such groups." Peiris said they "don't have the moral authority 'to tell us what to do.'"

In their statement, The Elders expressed concern about the response to Sri Lanka's actions, which they called "a deafening global silence that may encourage other states to act in a similar way."

The purpose of this website is to gather all available informations regarding human rights violations in Sri Lanka.