Richard Howitt, who led a delegation of fellow European parliamentarians on a visit to Sri Lanka, says that the Colombo government is restricting access to vast areas of the north of the island to prevent the discovery of the many civilian dead buried there.
“What everyone says is that it’s because [it is] literally where the bodies are buried, and that if people with forensic skills go in and investigations start, then the true horrors of what happened in those final days with so many innocent civilians said to have been killed absolutely unnecessarily, that that would come out and that the Sri Lankans will do everything to prevent that” he siad.
The delegation was able to visit parts of the North-East, but was not allowed to enter military exclusion zones.
Civilians from the affected regions will not be allowed to resettle in their homes for the foreseeable future, Mr Howitt told the BBC. (see report here)
The government defended its exclusion zones, saying that civilians will not be allowed to resettle until the area has been cleared of landmines.
“There had been no landmine deaths since the end of the war and it would be risky to send people into those zones” Defence Ministry spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella told the BBC.
This is what we said in November 2010:
"Conventions, treaties and diplomatic etiquette mean that while a country is undertaking its own internal investigation, the international community will remain reluctant to push through an independent inquiry. Or so Sri Lanka hopes […]
"However, in a state like Sri Lanka, time is of the essence. As international human rights organizations […] have rightly and repeatedly pointed out, there is no protection for witnesses in Sri Lanka. Viewed in conjunction with on-going abductions, countless disappearances, high profile assassinations and a complete disregard for the rule of law, the plight of witnesses or outspoken critics is truly terrifying.
"The argument of respecting a state's sovereignty can only go so far in the face of allegations of war crimes. […]
"In practical terms, the more time Sri Lanka is allowed to waste, the more time it has to destroy the evidence and eliminate the witnesses of its crimes.
"How many more extensions and excuses is the UN prepared to endure, before it feels the need to press forward on an independent international inquiry?"
