A 26 year old war between the Tamil Tigers and Sri Lanka’s military ended in 2009. But the UNHRC claims that there was a high chance that war crimes were committed by both sides, especially during the last few months of the war. A UN resolution calls for post-war reconciliation and that investigations be conducted into all allegations of war crimes, and that trials should be held in special courts by international judges. This is the norm, and has been this way in other countries like Rwanda, Kosovo, Darfur, Bosnia for example.
Examples of war crimes are a widespread use of brutal torture and sexual abuse, forced disappearances and more. These crimes were earlier reports in two UN reports and were even
the subject of an exposé by a British Channel Four documentary
called Sri Lanka’s Killing Fields, which showed beaches
strewn with shoes, most of them belonging to children, as well
as craters with sarees and other clothing. This government has
been more cooperative than the previous one but President
Sirisena has to make his stand clear on the special courts and
international judges. The investigations must happen for the
sake of humanity and for all of Sri Lanka.
