The sun has not set on Sri Lanka's war crimes

7 March / 20:30 / Grütli / Co-presented with HRW and Le Temps

The page of Sri Lanka's civil was not turned on 18 May 2009 when the rebel Tamils were slaughtered by Colombo's troops. Three years later, Sri Lankan human rights activists and their NGO supporters continue to call for justice for the tens of thousands of civilians massacred in the battle's death throes. Colombo having failed to organize a credible investigation to establish responsibilities and prevent impunity, they are determinedly targeting the establishment of an independent international inquiry.

On the cusp between 2008 and 2009, this three-decade-long conflict had reached its climax. Hundreds of thousands of Tamils, trapped in a shrinking area, were subjected to the unceasing crossfire of the Sri Lankan army and the Tamil Tigers guerrilla forces. And unbeknownst to the outside world, the whole northern part of the island was forbidden to journalists and neutral observers.

The blackout did not, however, prevent suspicions of monstrous exactions from filtering out. They are now confirmed by an abundance of evidence, in particular filmed evidence, and a number of testimonies. A report published in April 2011 by experts mandated by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon listed the crimes committed by the Tigers (using civilians as human shields, recruiting child soldiers) and, to an even more frightful extent, by President Mahinda Rajapakse's soldiers.

In the name of the fight against "separatist terrorism" and under cover of "humanitarian operations", Colombo neglected no method: bombing displaced communities and medical services, summary executions. Atrocities that, like those perpetrated by the Tigers, can be compared to war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to UN experts.

Angélique Mounier-Kuhn