Sri Lanka has announced that a ‘National Inquiry on Torture’ has been postponed indefinitely, after requests from several ‘civil society organisations’, reported the Sunday Leader.
The inquiry was expected to conduct investigations into allegations of torture that occurred during the final phases of the armed conflict to the present day. It was hailed by Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma, as a an initiative that would work towards “national reconciliation” with assistance from the Commonwealth Secretariat.
There is no word as to when the inquiry will, if ever, start.
A source told the Sunday Leader,
“This decision was taken by the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission, together with the Commonwealth Secretariat Human Rights Unit, responding to a request made by several civil society organisations who had sought a postponement of the investigations”.
The source reportedly went on to say that with all the different investigations the government was undertaking, asserting “this was not the correct time to launch another investigation”.
Accusations of torture of Tamils have been rife in the island, with Human Rights Watch releasing a report detailing continued systematic rape, sexually abuse and torture of Tamils, earlier this year.
Also see: Tamils still face rape and torture in Sri Lanka's 'Unfinished War' - BBC reports (09 November 2013)
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