8/9/2019 Opening Up Sri Lanka's New Government Confronts Legacy of War

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Opening up? Sri Lanka's newgovernment confronts legacy of war

SriLanka's new government has signalled a fresh approach to many sensitive wartime issues

By Amantha PereraColombo, 3 ebruary !"#$ %& &() * Sri Lanka+s new government says it willaddress outstanding concerns relating to the civil war that ended in ay!""-, including allegations of human rights abuses, missing persons andpolitical prisoners. /he new administration, which came to power lastmonth, appears to be willing to tackle sensitive issues that were e0ectivelytaboo under the previous administration. 1ut activists warn only swift,

decisive, action can reverse the legacy of pre*e2isting draconian measures.

“ verybody is free now, we want to set up a 4ust administration and we arewilling to work with all parties,5 cabinet spokesperson and health minister,

a4itha Senaratne, told & &(.

6e said the new government, led by 7resident aithripala Sirisena, was alsoreevaluating its relationship with the 8eneva based 9nited (ations 6uman

ights Council %9(6 C), which launched its own investigation last year into

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alleged abuses committed by both sides in the war. Seasoned Sri Lankandiplomat and former 9( 9nder Secretary, :ayantha ;hanapala, has alreadyvisited 9(6 C head<uarters for discussions in his role as specialpresidential advisor on foreign a0airs.

Line in the sand

6owever the new leadership is maintaining the stand taken by the previoushardline ahinda a4apaksa government in re4ecting international in<uiries,including the current 9(6 C investigation, which is e2pected to submit itsreport in arch.

=>e will not allow any 9( investigators into the country,5 Senaratnecon rmed.

6e added that the government was looking at setting up a new nationalinvestigation into wartime abuse and would seek 9( advice and input intoongoing national programmes such as the 7residential Commission on the

issing. =&f needed we will bring in foreign e2pertise,5 he said.

/he 9( said it was waiting to clarify details.

or its part, 6uman ights >atch %6 >) commended Sri Lanka+s newpolitical leadership for the positive steps taken since assuming o@ce. =/heatmosphere for human rights defenders, the media and others has changeddramatically,5 1rad Adams, 6 > 2ecutive ;irector for Asia said.

1ut he warned that non*cooperation with international investigations couldundermine the new government+s credibility.

= or victims, civil society in Sri Lanka, and the international community totrust the Bnew government it will need to fully cooperate with the 9( O@ceof the 6igh Commissioner for 6uman ights and the 9( 6uman ightsCouncil,5 Adams said, =including by allowing 9( investigators full accessand making it clear that anyone responsible for abuses will be prosecutedto the full e2tent of the law, no matter the position they may have held in

the government or military.5Derifying political prisoners

eanwhile the Sirisena government is already moving forward on the issueof political prisoners. Spokesman Senaratne said he had received a reportwith a list of those detained since the war ended.

=/here are !E$ names of political prisoners, all are Bethnic minority /amils

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and have been detained since the war,5 he said. =>e want to e2pedite thelegal process.5 Senaratne did not elaborate on how those detained came tobe de ned as political prisoners, but he said all were arrested for suspectedlinks to the separatist Liberation /igers of /amil elam %L// ), which foughtfor more than two and a half decades for a separate /amil state in thenorth.

/he list includes those held under detention orders, prisoners whose casesare being processed and eight people suspected of grave crimes includingmurder.

Senaratne told & &( the government was trying to verify whether anynames of people reported as missing were on the list. /o that end, he said,the authorities would be seeking the support of the /amil (ational Alliance%/(A), the main political party representing the minority /amils in Sri Lanka.

irak aheem, an independent human rights researcher, called for greatertransparency in the process.

=One of the rst things the government should do is to make the list publicas soon as it can, so that there is no secrecy on who is detained and who isnot, 5 he said.>hose land?

aheem is encouraged, however, by progress on another controversialissue relating to the war*ravaged north and east F private land taken by theSri Lankan military during the conGict. /he new government has promised

to return all land other than that appropriated for what it deems to benational security reasons.

/he Sri Lankan military has used seiHed land to run businesses such asrestaurants, guesthouses and farms. 1ut aheem said the government hadgiven assurances that =whatever was ac<uired for business purposes wouldbe handed back to the rightful owners.5

=&t is hugely symbolic,5 he said, =because it signals, for the rst time sincethe end of the war, that the government is willing to take action on this.5

Legal e2perts, however, caution there is no clear data on how much landthe military is holding and little clarity over demarcation, since militaryfacilities and non*military commercial enterprises often e2ist within a singlecompound.&n another sign of restrictions previously placed on humanitarian agenciesnow being eased, the &nternational Committee of the ed Cross %&C C) saysit has started conducting needs assessments in %eastern) 1atticaloa,

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Colombo and %central) Iandy, to determine the economic, psychological,administrative and legal support re<uired by the families of those stillmissing ve years after the war ended. /he programme will include therelatives of missing government security force personnel as well as those of

/amil combatants and civilians. /he &C C says it plans to carry out furtherassessments in other parts of the country later in the year, after which itwill present its recommendations to the government.

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