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Closing window of opportunity in Sri Lanka warns Pasumai Thaayagam

Sri Lanka’s window of opportunity for reconciliation will close if it fails to act on accountability and militarisation, said the Pasumai Thaayagam Foundation in a written statement to the 32nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

In a statement endorsing the findings of an investigative report by People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL), Pasumaya Thaayagam said,

“On this line the People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) brought out a report, dated 20 April 2016 which provides details of ongoing militarization and harassment amongst the Tamil population of the North-East of Sri Lanka, over one year after the change in presidency and seven months after the election of the United National Party-led national government.”

The report found that “The diametrically-opposed narratives between the Sinhala community celebrating the war victory and the unimpeachable honour of Army forces, while Tamils simultaneously consider themselves survivors of genocide and mourn tens of thousands dead, must be genuinely confronted by a government policy that acknowledges past and present crimes against Tamils.”

It further added that “the government must respect the rights of all its peoples to self-determination, which must form the basis of any lasting political solution. But before justice and a political solution can take root, the Government must immediately take steps to demilitarize and stop all ongoing human rights violations against Tamil communities in the North-East, who have already suffered enough.”
 
See full report here.

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