COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office
COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office
COI Report March 2012 - UK Border Agency - Home Office
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7 MARCH <strong>2012</strong> SRI LANKA<br />
―A number of foreign governments and agencies have pressed Sri Lanka to address<br />
fully the issue of accountability for human-rights abuses committed in the closing stages<br />
of the war. The US ratcheted up the pressure in June, noting that if Sri Lanka failed to<br />
fulfill its obligation to investigate alleged breaches of international humanitarian and<br />
human rights laws, then there could be growing pressure among the global community<br />
to examine other options. This will be seen by some as a tacit suggestion that the<br />
accusations could be referred to the International Criminal Court.‖<br />
3.50 The ICG report Sri Lanka: Reconciliation in Sri Lanka: Harder than ever 60 , 18 July 2011<br />
observed:<br />
―Two years since the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Sri Lanka is<br />
further from reconciliation than ever. Triumphalist in its successful ‗war on terror‘, the<br />
government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa has refused to acknowledge, let alone<br />
address, the Tamil minority‘s legitimate grievances against the state. The regime<br />
destroyed the Tigers by rejecting the more conciliatory approach of prior governments<br />
and adopting the insurgents‘ brutality and intolerance of dissent. Now, contrary to the<br />
image it projects, the government has increasingly cut minorities and opponents out of<br />
decisions on their economic and political futures rather than work toward reconciliation.<br />
As power and wealth is concentrated in the Rajapaksa family, the risks of renewed<br />
conflict are growing again.‖<br />
―Much has improved with the end of the war in May 2009. The paralysing threat of<br />
suicide attacks on civilians in the south has ended with the destruction of the LTTE,<br />
while Tamil families no longer fear the Tigers‘ forced recruitment of their children and<br />
other abuses. Economic and political security is better for some segments of society.<br />
But decades of political violence and civil war have polarised Sri Lanka‘s ethnic<br />
communities and undermined institutions, particularly those involved in law and order.<br />
Each of the major ethnic groups – Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims – has suffered<br />
immensely. Conflicts have not just left hundreds of thousands dead, injured or displaced<br />
but have also entrenched fears and misunderstandings in each community.‖<br />
―Northern areas once ruled by the LTTE are now dominated by the military, which has<br />
taken over civil administration and controls all aspects of daily life – undermining what<br />
little remains of local capacity. Democratic political activities in the north and east have<br />
been suppressed through the use of violent and corrupt ethnic Tamil proxies and other<br />
Rajapaksa loyalists. Development of those areas has been conducted without local<br />
consultation; indeed many Tamil residents feel that it is more like the extraction of the<br />
spoils of war than a real effort to improve livelihoods and build trust.‖<br />
The UN <strong>Report</strong> of the Secretary-General’s panel of experts on accountability in Sri<br />
Lanka – April 2011<br />
3.51 The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Country <strong>Report</strong> Sri Lanka, May 2011 61 observed:<br />
60 International Crisis Group (ICG),Sri Lanka: Reconciliation in Sri Lanka: Harder than ever, Asia <strong>Report</strong><br />
N°209 – 18 July 2011, http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/asia/south-asia/srilanka/209%20Reconciliation%20in%20Sri%20Lanka%20-%20Harder%20than%20Ever.pdf,<br />
Executive<br />
Summary, Date accessed 6 January 2011<br />
The main text of this <strong>COI</strong> <strong>Report</strong> contains the most up to date publicly available information as at 3 February <strong>2012</strong>.<br />
Further brief information on recent events and reports has been provided in the Latest News section<br />
to 2 <strong>March</strong> <strong>2012</strong>.<br />
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