idaho lottery

Only a timely delivery of justice can be an initial step towards any peace

A conference of The International Human Rights Council had been convened in Geneva   from 27.2.2012. The sittings will continue till 23.3.2012. During  this session ,Sri Lanka’s Human Right violations issue is expected to come under the microscope.  Also, pressure from various sources has been applied, so as to adjudicate on this  subject at the international  level.

During the early months of last year, a panel of experts from U.N have mentioned that high ranking officers in Sri Lanka (SL) could  have violated the rules of war and that they have to be investigated as to whether  they have committed war crimes. However, in spite of repeated requests by various human rights organisations, demanding an independent international inquiry over the atrocities committed on the Tamil people, so far there hasn’t been any reasonable inquiry ever conducted in order to satisfy such requests. Obviously, Tamils are not in a mood to accept any inquiry conducted by the SL government (who are the accused!) as it has already lost the entire confidence and trust of the Tamil people.

One human rights organisation has commented that it will be out of the wildest dreams to imagine that SL will ever conduct a reasonable inquiry, as similar repeated requests from human right institutions from time to time, have been totally ignored. The so called committees formed by the SL government (as a ploy to buy  time!) in order to investigate  the murders, tortures, rapes and  disappearances, had never acted responsibly and hence any request (for the extension of time limit) for the implementation of the recommendations of LLRC, gave these human rights organisations  only shock and surprise.

The fact that the international community (IC) expects the very people , (who caused immense hardship to those who lost their livelihood, kith and  kin, and extend their lives without a ray of hope;) to conduct such an inquiry and award justice, adds  insult to injury in every sense. Amongst Tamil people, the idea that the IC is continuously failing to address their grievances, seems to gain credibility day by day. This may eventually lead to a total lack of confidence on the IC altogether.

In SL, the Tamil people (who are virtually under an army rule), are still leading a life without any form of hope, security or relief. It has been a struggle from day to day. The only hope they have is a favourable verdict in the issue of war crimes. It is worth mentioning here that some sources have pointed out that there is a potential for a revolution  to erupt in SL and this can be averted only by the actions of  The International Human Rights Council.

The world has to come to terms with the fact that there can never be lasting   peace in              Sri Lanka unless and until justice is delivered against all the atrocities perpetrated so far against the Tamils. It is very unlikely that any other effort will bear any fruit!

Only an independent International inquiry on war crimes can be an initial step for peace!