Sri Lanka’s window for reform is shrinking said Brussels based Think Tank the International Crisis Group in a new report released today.
In an executive summary the ICG said,
“Seven years after the end of the civil war in May 2009, issues of reconciliation and accountability remain largely unaddressed. The government appears to be backtracking on transitional justice plans, particularly the role of foreign judges and experts. The enormity of the crimes, especially in the final weeks of the war, makes them impossible to ignore but hard for the military and most Sinhalese to acknowledge or accept responsibility for. Mechanisms promised to the UNHRC feed Sinhala nationalist suspicions, while attempts to reassure Sinhalese and the military encourage doubts among Tamils about government willingness to pursue justice for wartime atrocities or back constitutional changes that satisfy legitimate Tamil aspirations for meaningful autonomy.”
Noting that the new government still had to rebuild confidence among the Tamil communities in the north and east and address Sinhala majoritarian nationalism, the summary warned that,
“As longstanding dysfunctional political dynamics reassert themselves, the government’s ability to distinguish itself from the Rajapaksa era, which is essential to its political survival, has begun to fade.”
Noting that Sri Lanka’s military budget had increased under the new government, ICG called on Sri Lanka’s government to take immediate steps to “end remaining military involvement in civil administration; remove military from all shops, farms hotels and other commercial businesses; and immediately suspend construction or expansion of military camps in the north and east.”
More to follow.
In an executive summary the ICG said,
“Seven years after the end of the civil war in May 2009, issues of reconciliation and accountability remain largely unaddressed. The government appears to be backtracking on transitional justice plans, particularly the role of foreign judges and experts. The enormity of the crimes, especially in the final weeks of the war, makes them impossible to ignore but hard for the military and most Sinhalese to acknowledge or accept responsibility for. Mechanisms promised to the UNHRC feed Sinhala nationalist suspicions, while attempts to reassure Sinhalese and the military encourage doubts among Tamils about government willingness to pursue justice for wartime atrocities or back constitutional changes that satisfy legitimate Tamil aspirations for meaningful autonomy.”
Noting that the new government still had to rebuild confidence among the Tamil communities in the north and east and address Sinhala majoritarian nationalism, the summary warned that,
“As longstanding dysfunctional political dynamics reassert themselves, the government’s ability to distinguish itself from the Rajapaksa era, which is essential to its political survival, has begun to fade.”
Noting that Sri Lanka’s military budget had increased under the new government, ICG called on Sri Lanka’s government to take immediate steps to “end remaining military involvement in civil administration; remove military from all shops, farms hotels and other commercial businesses; and immediately suspend construction or expansion of military camps in the north and east.”
More to follow.