Thursday, December 26, 2013

Scars of Sri Lanka...

The civil war in Sri Lanka ended in 2009 with the victory of President Rajapaksa's forces over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), but there are claims that abduction, torture and even rape of suspected former fighters or sympathisers continues today.

In November 2013, Commonwealth leaders, including British Prime Minister David Cameron, converged on Colombo for the bi-annual heads of government meeting. It was a big moment for Sri Lanka, signalling its emergence from post-war turmoil and acceptance as a functioning democratic state on the international stage.

But the government remains under strong international pressure to hold a credible inquiry in to claims that thousands of civilian Tamils were killed in the closing days of the war when government troops are accused of firing artillery into civilian no-fire zones. The government denies this occurred and accused Tamil Tiger fighters of holding civilians as human shields.

Tamil groups also claim thousands of Tamils, including many who surrendered or were arrested at the end of the war, are still unaccounted for. The government insists most of those detained have been released. Travelling to the north of Sri Lanka, we meet civilians whose loved ones are still missing after surrendering alive at the end of the war. Full story...

Related posts:
  1. Sri Lanka’s crumbling democracy...
  2. Sri Lanka's forces accused of massacring aid workers...
  3. Fate of Tamil propagandist and TV presenter: chilling new evidence from Sri Lanka
  4. No Fire Zone: the killing fields of Sri Lanka...(Graphic)
  5. Handed a snack, and then executed: the last hours of the 12-year-old son...
  6. Sri Lanka's killing fields 2. Unpunished war crimes. (Graphic)
  7. Sri Lanka's killing fields (Graphic)
  8. Thousands missing in Sri Lanka as people continue to disappear...
  9. Dark days in Sri Lanka...

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