June
4th, 2013
07:15
AM ET
By Karunyan Arulanantham, Special to CNN
Editor’s
note: Karunyan Arulanantham is the executive director of the Tamil American
Peace Initiative, an organization of Tamil Americans. The views expressed are
the writer’s own.
Amid
the jungle and sandy beaches of northeast Sri Lanka’s Vanni region lie tragic
truths the government has desperately sought to suppress in the four years
since its civil war with the Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam (LTTE) came to a
sudden and gory halt. On the Mullivaikal peninsula, between the Nanthikadal Lagoon
and the sea just north of the town of Mullaithivu, the government declared a
safe zone, where hundreds of thousands of Tamil civilians were trapped as they
sought refuge from the bloodshed.
What
happened next is almost unimaginable. Seeking to crush the LTTE once and for
all, the government proceeded to shell the No Fire Zone and surrounding areas
after assuring the world that they would not use heavy weapons. The government declared victory over the LTTE in late
May 2009, but in doing so, tens of thousands of innocent Tamil civilians were
also killed by government forces.
According to the U.N. Panel of
Experts on Sri Lanka, as many as 40,000 civilians
may have been killed during the war’s final stages, while “only a proper
investigation can lead to the identification of all of the victims and to the
formulation of an accurate figure.” Some analysts paint an even starker
picture. The Catholic Bishop of Mannar, Joseph Rayappu, has testified that over
140,000 civilians remain unaccounted for since the fall of 2008.
In
March, the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) passed a resolution calling for the Sri
Lankan government to “conduct an independent and credible investigation into
allegations of violations of international human rights law and international
humanitarian law” that occurred during the war’s final stages. But how honest
are we being with ourselves when we ask a government that stands chief among
the accused to credibly and independently investigate its own wrongdoing?
In
fact, the government continues to promote the very same climate of oppression
and indifference that largely fueled Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict and led to
civil war.
The
UNHRC is well aware of this, citing in its report the continuation of “enforced
disappearances, extrajudicial killings, torture, and violations of the rights
to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, as well as
intimidation of and reprisals against human rights defenders, members of civil
society and journalists, threats to judicial independence and the rule of law,
and discrimination on the basis of religion or belief.”
These
alleged transgressions were echoed in last year’s U.S. State Department Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices, which also noted “a lack of
accountability for thousands who disappeared in previous years; and widespread
impunity for a broad range of human rights abuses, particularly involving
police torture, and attacks on media institutions and the judiciary.”
Meanwhile,
the Tamils in particular continue to be marginalized, demonized and endangered.
They are denied political representation and economic opportunity while
enduring the seizure and militarization of their homes and lands. The latest
reported land grab by the army is the alleged seizure of 6,381 acres of land
belonging to Tamils in just one small northern area of Valikamam, although
others have also been claimed.
After
the war, the government scrapped the singing of the national anthem in Tamil at
official functions, and is quickly and decisively dismantling the cultural
identity of the Tamils.
Aware
of all this, what is the international community waiting for? A U.N. mechanism
that would allow the international community to act decisively and initiate
independent investigations and conduct a U.N. supervised referendum on options
for peaceful coexistence is long overdue. This is by far the best way to
achieve real reconciliation.
The
Tamil people deserve to have their rights protected. Yet they now face a
systematic attempt by a conquering, vindictive government to erase them from
the country’s future and the nation’s collective memory. By definition, you
can’t have reconciliation or stability when certain groups are perennially
subjugated.
Meanwhile,
the Sri Lankan government has mounted an expensive public relations strategy
that denies and distracts from the real issues the country faces. It promises
to take meaningful steps forward, but only makes halfhearted attempts in the
hopes that more years will pass, and the international community will forget.
But forgetting the past will only ensure it is repeated.
Because
the government won’t pursue truth and reconciliation, the international
community must. And the United States should take the lead on such an effort.
As President Obama said on May 13, 2009 as the war neared its end, “Going
forward, Sri Lanka must seek a peace that is secure and lasting, and grounded
in respect for all of its citizens.”
Judging
by recent history, one thing seems clear: Sri Lanka won’t solve its problems on
its own.
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