Return to War - Human Rights Watch

seen as using the same tactics as a terror group. The rule of law must always be
respected by all arms of the government.” 3
Ironically, the serious deterioration in the government’s human rights record is
taking place under a president who was once a human rights activist, known for
getting dossiers of the “disappeared” out of the country to the United Nations (UN)
Commission on Human Rights in 1990. President Rajapaksa’s official biography
trumpets him as a “champion of human rights,” 4 but he has failed to demonstrate
those qualities during his presidential term.
Abuses during armed conflict
Some of the most serious international law violations have taken place during armed
hostilities, when civilians have died in unlawful attacks and others were displaced.
Both the government and the LTTE have shown a brazen disregard for the well-being
of non-combatants.
In one of the most deadly incidents of recent years, government shelling in the
eastern Vaharai area on November 8, 2006, hit school grounds that were housing
thousands of displaced civilians, killing 62 and wounding 47. Government forces
failed to distinguish between combatants and civilians and may have purposely
targeted the school. Based on interviews with a dozen witnesses and other
information, Human Rights Watch found no evidence to support government claims
that the LTTE had fired that morning at government forces from the vicinity of the
school or had used civilians as “human shields” to protect themselves from attack.
The treatment of internally displaced persons remains a paramount concern. Some
315,000 people have had to flee their homes due to fighting since August 2006;
100,000 fled in March 2007 alone. This comes atop the 200,000-250,000 people
made homeless by the December 2004 tsunami—many from the same areas as the
recent fighting—and the approximately 315,000 displaced by the conflict prior to
3 The Sunday Times Online, vol. 41-no. 39, February 25, 2007, http://sundaytimes.lk/070225/News/102news.html (accessed
July 2, 2007).
4 Official website of the President of Sri Lanka, http://www.presidentsl.org/data/about.htm (accessed May 21, 2007).
5
Human Rights Watch August 2007