The Tamil Civil Society Forum (TCSF) called for the Sri Lankan government to be “honest and truthful” about the aims of a accountability process in a meeting between civil society organisations and the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister in Colombo on Thursday.
In a discussion note circulated during the meeting, the TCSF raised concerns regarding the security situation for such a process, calling for a process to “prevent the interference of the armed forces, police and their intelligence”.
“The larger questions is as to how a transparent and open VCP (victim consultation process) could be conducted with the overwhelming presence of the military in the North-East?,” asked the discussion note. “If the Government accepts this is a concern how does it hope to tackle this issue?”
Calling for a “participatory process” with victim representation, the TCSF said there must be “constant involvement of victims in the whole of the process – implementation and its monitoring”.
Noting that the government was “sending mixed signals, which aim at downplaying the importance of the need for involvement of foreign judges, prosecutors and investigators” as mandated by a UN Human Rights Council resolution, the TCSF said that “some sections of the government are also dismissive of the need for a criminal justice process in its entirety”.
“One cannot have a process of truth and reconciliation without being honest and truthful about the objectives and aims of the process,” it added.
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