According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Sri Lankan government’s persistent violations are undermining the commission’s stated objectives.
This was discussed in a 39-page report titled “‘We Raise Our Voice They Arrest Us’: Sri Lanka’s Proposed Truth and Reconciliation Commission” that was released today (Sept. 18).
The government’s initiative has been rejected by the victims of past violations, their families, and human rights advocates, according to the New York-based human rights watchdog, because the government did not consult them, disregarded the evidence gathered by prior commissions, and would subject them to abuses by the security force and re-traumatization if they took part.
Intimidation of activists and campaigners from minority Tamil families of those who “disappeared” during Sri Lanka’s civil conflict, as well as ‘abusive’ security force surveillance, is revealed in the report, according to HRW.
The rights group charged that while government-supported property seizures target Muslim and Tamil communities and their places of worship, the Sri Lankan government uses harsh counterterrorism legislation to muzzle dissenting voices, including those demanding truth and responsibility.
Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at HRW, stated, “Sri Lanka profoundly needs truth and accountability, but a credible process requires the support of victims’ families and a stop to government abuses against them and their communities.”
