Sri Lanka guilty of War Crimes

The Sri Lanka government is guilty of crimes against humanity, was the conclusion of a war-crimes tribunal, conducted by Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal (PPT) based in Milan, which held hearings from 14 to 16 January in Dublin, Ireland.

The preliminary findings issued on Saturday January 16 stated that based on eye-witness accounts and other material evidence, Sri Lanka Government is "guilty of War-Crimes" and "guilty of Crimes Against Humanity."

Eye witnesses included several escapees from the final week of Sri Lanka offensive in the Mullaitivu "No Fire Zone" where more than 20,000 Tamil civilians were allegedly slaughtered by Sri Lanka Army training heavy weapons on them.

The tribunal also concluded that the charge of Genocide requires further investigations.

“Harrowing evidence, including video footage, was submitted by eye-witnesses of the use of heavy artillery and phosphorous munitions, and of the continuous violation of human rights by military activity to a panel of ten international jurors over two days,” the Peoples Tribunal on Sri Lanka (PTSL) said in a statement.

Using satellite imagery and witness statements, the tribunal was able to construct a timeline for attacks on Puthukkudiyiruppu (PTK) Hospital, for example.

"The presentation in Dublin on Satellite Image Analysis on PTK Hospital is the first step in making international institutions aware the type of legally acceptable evidence that can be gathered from the battle areas which were deliberately kept isolated from news organizations and NGOs by the perpetrator of war-crimes, the Sri Lanka Government,” a representative for the US based Tamils Against Genocide (TAG) told TamilNet .

“Attacks on other hospitals, destruction of schools and places of worship will be examined, and evidence collected as follow up steps,” they said, adding that this evidence will be used to bolster the case that the actions of the Sri Lankan government amounted to genocide.

The hearings were conducted in public as well as in camera to protect the identity of key witnesses.

The tribunal, chaired by Francois Houtart, also accused the international community, UK and the USA in particular, of being instrumental in the break down of the peace process between the Sri Lanka government and the Tamil Tigers.

The PTSL is an initiative of the Ireland peace process supported by the University of Dublin and Dublin City University.

The Irish Forum for Peace in Sri Lanka has urged the government to allow the UN to conduct an inquiry into the war crimes and to release all internally displaced people and former combatants.

The Irish Forum for Peace in Sri Lanka asserted that long term peace and stability can only be established on the basis of full justice and rights for all the inhabitants of the island.

The Sri Lanka government however has denied the findings with Secretary to the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights, Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha, describing the Permanent People’s Tribunal as a ‘kangaroo court’.

A statement released by the Sri Lankan government said, the judgments of the ‘Permanent People’s Tribunal on Sri Lanka’ will do nothing to further permanent peace efforts in Sri Lanka, but pose a serious threat to the country’s  stability.

“We strongly condemn any unaccountable organization, whether it purports to be a quasi-legal entity or not, irresponsibly distorting events and seeking to selectively pass judgment from afar,”

The statement went on to claim that the members of the tribunal should be helping Sri Lanka unite and move on at the end of a terrible conflict, not continue to stoke it.