In a statement following reports of that people who spoke to the visiting UN human rights chief, Navi Pillay, were being harassed and intimidated by the Sri Lankan military, Human Rights Watch (HRW) slammed the government's actions.
Brad Adams, HRW's Asia director said:
“It’s outrageous for a government that is hosting the UN human rights chief to have their security forces harass the people who met with her,”“The Sri Lankan government should announce that ‘visits’ or other forms of harassment of those who spoke to the high commissioner will be punished. And the government should make sure they punish officials who’ve already done so.”
“Despite promises to Pillay of unfettered access, Sri Lankan authorities have gone about business as usual in harassing those courageous enough to come forward to talk about the country’s many human rights problems,”
“A government that doesn’t care enough to call off its security forces for a few days while the UN’s rights chief is visiting is a government that plainly doesn’t care about respecting basic human rights.”
See here for full statement.
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
