Sri Lanka experiences a dark age of violations of human rights such as disappearances, abductions and detentions. There are no signs of bringing the situation under control.

International organizations such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and international Jurists have rated Sri Lanka as a country where violations of human rights are very high.

Human Rights Commission has identified 68 persons considered missing. According to the report, complaints of about 183 disappearances are being investigated. According to them, the number of disappearances was 245 during the period between December 2005 and July 2006.Security forces are accused of being responsible for 62.

Ulf Henriccson, SLMM Chief has accused that security forces must take responsibility for the killing of 17 relief workers in Muthur. He added that he had adequate evidence to support his charge.

This opinion of the outgoing SLMM Chief has received international attention. As a result, the international image of Sri Lanka has been damaged. This issue was raised during the visit of President Rajapakse to London.

The Human Rights violations have worsened during the tenure of office of President Rajapakse although he was in the forefront of protests against any violations of human rights before he came to power.

The prevailing gun culture cannot be stopped unless we avert a war situation in the country. The government has a duty to ensure such a peaceful atmosphere.

An English translation of the Editorial in Thinakkural, a Tamil daily, based in Colombo

Comments (1)

Subscribe to this comment's feed