Tamil parties urge UN rights chief to ensure accountability in Sri Lanka

Colombo, Jun 25 (PTI) Sri Lanka's Tamil parties have written a joint letter to visiting UN rights chief Volker Turk, highlighting the need for a sincere and genuine approach to ensure accountability and reconciliation in the island nation.

The letter was signed by representatives of political parties such as the Illankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK), All Ceylon Tamil Congress, Tamil National People’s Front, Democratic Tamil National Alliance and civil organizations.  The letter laments that no significant progress on the question of accountability for crimes committed during the four-decade-long war has been made - now for 16 years since 2009.

“We are concerned that your visit will be used and is being used by the Government of Sri Lanka as an exercise in boosting their legitimacy and to weaken the resolve of your office and that of the  UN Human Rights Council to take concrete steps towards ensuring accountability in Sri Lanka,” it said.  Turk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, is on a three-day visit to Sri Lanka. The letter was handed over to him Wednesday in the northern province, Tamil parties said.

This is the first visit to Sri Lanka by a human rights chief in nine years. Turk’s predecessor Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein visited Sri Lanka in February 2016.

Sri Lanka’s conflict time accountability has been questioned extensively at the UNHRC sessions since 2012.  As many as four resolutions have been passed by the UNHRC membership which called for accountability by setting up an international prosecution mechanism for rights abuses blamed on both government troops and the LTTE who led a bloody armed conflict to carve out a separate Tamil homeland.

The UNHRC action followed a visit by the then UN Secretary General Ban ki Moon immediately after the conflict ended in May 2009 with the military crushing of the LTTE. PTI CORR ZH ZH