Despite coming under strong criticism at the 6th session of United Nations Human Rights Council, Sri Lanka is showing no signs of acknowledging rampant abuses by its military or intent to taking measures to rein in the forces.
Instead, Colombo, is bluntly rejecting all charges made against by international human rights organisations.
Since the President Mahinda Rajapakse came to power in November 2005, the number of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and abductions by the security forces has increased savagely.
According to a report jointly compiled by three reputed civil society organizations - The Law & Society Trust, the Civil Monitoring Commission and Free Media movement - at least 547 civilians have been killed and 396 gone missing in government controlled areas in Sri Lanka this year alone.
In the past two UN human rights council sessions also, Sri Lanka’s human rights record came under intense criticism and the council was urged by rights group to pass a resolution censuring the island state.
However, with Sri Lanka making last minute promises to improve matters, the council backed away from taking any action against the state.
At the time Sri Lanka promised a political package aimed at ending three decades of ethnic conflict within a month and assured the international community to improved human right record.
Foreign minister Rohitha Bogollagama at the time stated that an all-party consultative committee had emerged with several proposed constitutional reforms to be refined into a "final" plan "within a few weeks from now," setting the stage for what could be devolution of power in Sri Lanka.
However, no solution has been put forward so far and the All Party Representative Council (APRC) on which the international community placed all their hope on has collapsed with president Rajapakse indefinitely suspending it last month.
This time around, in addition to the number of human rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch voicing concerns and urging action against Sri Lanka, an international panel of eminent persons has published a scathing report dismissing Sri Lanka’s own presidential enquires into the abuses and the European Union is considering its own resolution condemning the state, adding further pressure.
However, according to the Daily Mirror newspaper in Sri Lanka the Bogollagama is confident of avoiding any sanctions this time around too.
Whilst admitting a ‘negative sense’ prevailing in the international circles he was quoted as stating “We should be okay”.
The paper further quoted him as saying “There are always two stages in a debate of this nature. They will first go straight off into the ultimate conclusions, and then they will stop short of that and look at optional arrangements. We can always play within these two determinations,”
Sri Lanka remains confident of stalling international action against it whilst continuing to wage a dirty war in which killings and disappearing of disappearances are a daily routine.
Many international voices including the European Union continue to call for United Nations monitoring.
However the detailed reports compiled and presented by rights group such Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International clearly shows that lack of monitoring is not the issue but lack of incentive for Sri Lanka to cease the abuses is.
Whether a resolution in the human rights council is passed against Sri Lanka or not, as long the Sri Lankan state enjoys total impunity against the human right violations it perpetrates against the Tamil people the abuses can be expected to continue.
