The New York-based group Human Rights Watch on Tuesday pressed for an international probe into the killings in
HRW marked the anniversary of the execution-style murders of the Action Against Hunger (ACF) workers in
The group accused the government of grossly mishandling the investigation into the deaths of local employees of the Action Against Hunger group.
"Since the ACF massacre, the (President Mahinda) Rajapakse government has put on an elaborate song and dance to bedazzle the international community into believing justice is being done," said HRW director James Ross.
"It's time the UN and concerned governments say 'the show is over' and put into place a serious international inquiry."
"Instead of doing all it can to get justice for this horrific crime, the Sri Lankan government is further traumatising the victims' families by trying to shift the blame to others."
ACF itself has demanded an international investigation after a government probe failed to identify any suspects.
The call came last month after a Sri Lankan investigation cleared the military of killing the 17 employees of the charity, but ordered more compensation for the families of the victims.
HRW said that an international inquiry was needed into the murders. Sixteen of the victims were ethnic Tamils.
Thirteen men and four women who worked on water sanitation and farm projects for ACF were found shot dead in an area where government troops and the Liberation Tigers were fighting.
Nordic peace monitors at the time blamed the killings – the worst attack on aid workers since the bombing of the UN headquarters in
The government has denied any role.
The commission blamed the killings on either the Tamil Tigers or auxiliary police known as home guards. Its full report to President Mahinda Rajapaksa remains unpublished.
But HRW says that this report was based primarily on "limited witness testimony" from people who said that the armed forces were not in the vicinity at the time.
Excerpts from the commission's final report posted on the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defense website sharply criticize the role of local organizations in the ACF inquiry.
These organizations provided legal support for witnesses and made a number of written submissions on the case, HRW noted in a press release.
The commission stated that the "main function" of seven named nongovernmental organizations was to "attempt to discredit every possible institution and authority of this country before the Commission, and attempt to hold one party responsible for the gruesome crime.... They appeared not to ascertain the truth but to engage in a fault finding exercise of the security forces of
The commission said the groups adopted "a suspiciously narrow outlook" and engaged in a "preconceived plan or conspiracy to discredit the Commission ... for the consumption of some of the international organizations."
Human Rights Watch said that such accusations, made in the current context of continuing threats and physical assaults against media and civil society groups labeled "traitorous" or otherwise anti-government, place individuals and organizations at serious risk.
"On the third anniversary of the murder of 17 aid workers, the Sri Lankan government is no closer to uncovering the truth or prosecuting those responsible," said Ross.
"Instead, the government is using the atrocity to threaten local rights groups, intimidate the victims' families, and score political points against the French government."
