Sri Lanka’s recent history has been dominated by civil wars. In 1983, ethnic tensions between the majority Sinhalese (mainly Buddhist) population and the Tamil (mainly Hindu) minority in the North led to a devastating civil war. For over a quarter of a century, the Sri Lankan government clashed with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, known as the LTTE or Tamil Tigers, who fought in pursuit of an independent state.
The war ended on 19 May 2009, following a major government offensive that forced the rebels to surrender. Though precise figures on the death toll are difficult to tally, the United Nations suggests between 80,000 and 100,000 casualties. Such figures remain hotly contested, with the Sri Lankan authorities dismissing the UN’s death count of 40,000 during the final phase of the war, claiming the number was closer to 9,000.
The conflict displaced hundreds of thousands, tens of thousands of whom remain displaced today, despite government assurances in September 2012 that there were ‘no more Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)’. During and after the conflict, there have been many allegations of sexual abuse, particularly by the Sri Lankan security forces.
Since 2009, the international community has called for investigations into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. In March 2014, the United Nations Human Rights Council voted to launch an international inquiry in spite of fierce opposition from Sri Lanka and on 25 June 2014, the UN appointed three international experts to advise the investigation.
A UN Human Rights Council resolution in 2015 October had prescribed a mechanism with the participation of international judges, prosecutors and investigators.
Sri Lanka maintains there is no constitutional provision for foreign judges to operate in the island. But the government would be willing to seek foreign expertise in the mechanism to make it credible.
@Niranjan
