Tamils mark two years since end of Sri Lanka's civil war
Updated
Two years after the end of the bloody civil war in Sri Lanka, reconciliation between Tamils and the Sinhalese remains fraught with challenges.
Tamils around the world have gathered to commemorate the tens of thousands of lives lost during the final months of the war - when there was a sharp escalation in violence.
In Melbourne, the Tamil diaspora called on the Australian government to back the findings of a UN advisory report, which recommended an independent investigation into claims of atrocities perpetrated by both the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tiger sepatratists.
The Sri Lankan government says the report was "shoddy" and refutes any claims of atrocities.
Reporter: Alma Mistry
Speakers:Rajiva Wijesingha, Sri Lankan MP and the Secretary General of the Sri Lankan Government Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process; Adrian Sinnappu,The Consortium of Tamil Associations; Adam Bandt, Australian Greens Member for Melbourne
Tamils around the world have gathered to commemorate the tens of thousands of lives lost during the final months of the war - when there was a sharp escalation in violence.
In Melbourne, the Tamil diaspora called on the Australian government to back the findings of a UN advisory report, which recommended an independent investigation into claims of atrocities perpetrated by both the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tiger sepatratists.
The Sri Lankan government says the report was "shoddy" and refutes any claims of atrocities.
Reporter: Alma Mistry
Speakers:Rajiva Wijesingha, Sri Lankan MP and the Secretary General of the Sri Lankan Government Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process; Adrian Sinnappu,The Consortium of Tamil Associations; Adam Bandt, Australian Greens Member for Melbourne
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MISTRY: In May 2009, after three decades of bloodshed and conflict, the Tamil Tigers were defeated by the Sri Lankan Government. Two years later, M-P Rajiva Wijesingha is in Australia to promote the Sri Lankan government's effort to unify and rebuild the country. Mr Wijesingha's asking the Sinhalese and Tamil diaspora to lend their expertise and finances to help heal their homeland. He says the government has been working hard to shelter and rehabilitate the estimated 330,000 people that were displaced in the fighting.
WIJESINGHA: We've been able to resettle most people an we've actually dont quite a lot in terms of infrastructure development, making sure they've got schools, hospitals, roads, water facilities and so on. But where we need to much more is in terms of human resource development and I was hoping some of the communities here would also contribute.
MISTRY: But for Tamils who have left Sri Lanka, deep scars remain. In Melbourne, about 60 people gathered at Federation Square, to remember those killed during the military's final offensive in 2009. The protestors say 40,000 civilians were killed. Adrian Sinnappu is from The Consortium of Tamil Associations. He says Tamils can't forget the brutality of the past and he says the ethnic conflict is far from over.
SINNAPPU: Tamil people are still living in fear in incarceration and detention centres and refugee camps. What we've been fighting for is not solved. It's only the Sri Lankan government militarily defeated an organisation fighting for the independence. That's all that happened so the problem remains.
MISTRY: In April a U-N commissioned report found that 'tens of thousands of civilians' were killed in the final stage of the war, adding that most of those casualties were caused by government shelling. It accused Colombo of shelling indiscriminately and targetting hospitals and other safe zones. But the Sri Lankan Government has rejected the allegations. Rajiva Wijesingha is also the Secretary General of the government's Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process. He says he has personally looked into the allegations contained in the report, and found they aren't supported by evidence.
WIJESINGHA: It's actually quite shoddy let me give you an example. They'd make an allegation about sexual buse in camps. And they'd cite a footnote, which was the Secretary General's report. But when we went to the report and looked at that paragraph it was about what happened in the LTT controlled areas.
MISTRY: The report also criticised the Tamil Tigers, for using civilians as human shields and contributing to the death toll. Wijesingha says Tamils living overseas have been slow to acknowledge atrocities committed by the Tiger rebels and is more concerned with prolonging the conflict, than moving on from it.
WIJESINGHA: The Tamils in Sri Lanka, although they suffered very much from the LTTE. They know they were taken as human shields so they're not holding this against us but obviously some Tamils abroad, not all of them. They realised that they want to push this argument for the moment.
MISTRY: Adrian Sinnappu says if the Sri Lankan government knows it has no case to answer it should agree to an inquiry into possible war crimes.
SINNAPPU: If the Sri Lankan Government has nothing to hide then there is no need to to fear it. We welcome that. We welcome an independent inquiry. We are happy to listen to the independent umpire's decision. If Sri Lanka is genuine about reconciliation they should be willing to come forward and conduct and inquiry and find a peaceful solution to the problem.
MISTRY: Rajiva Wijesingha says he's written to the Secretary General of the UN Ban Ki Moon to point out problems with the advisory report, but the Sri Lankan government is yet to formally respond, because it was assured the report was not official, but meant only to advise the Secretary General.
WIJESINGHA: The Sri Lankan Government didn't want to dignify it by answering immediately. My view is that we still should through an agency such as the peace secretariate now. Make it very clear that we disagree and provide the evidence. But as I said that is a decision for the Executive branch of Government to make, not for me.
MISTRY: So they are still deliberating on that?
WIJESINGHA: I have no idea, I've been away for some time.
MISTRY: But the Tamil community overseas is pressing for a UN resolution for an independent inquiry. The Australian federal member for Melbourne, Greens MP, Adam Bandt, spoke at the rally. He says the Australian government should use its influence with Sri Lanka to ask it to co-operate with the UN.
BANDT: We trade with them we have negotiating and dipolomatic influence with them. And I think perhaps in a country closer to home or pehaps in a country where they were a group that had a louder voice, we would be jumping up and down saying this is unacceptable treatment.
MISTRY: Sri Lankan MP Rajiva Wijesingha says the government is working to engage more Tamils in the reconciliation process. But Tamils say there can be no reconciliation without an independant examination of the past. Adrian Sinnappu again.
SINNAPPU: Without justice there cannot be true reconciliation. They can continue to subjugate and threaten the community but without an international investigation and trying to find the truth and then the perpetrators on both
WIJESINGHA: We've been able to resettle most people an we've actually dont quite a lot in terms of infrastructure development, making sure they've got schools, hospitals, roads, water facilities and so on. But where we need to much more is in terms of human resource development and I was hoping some of the communities here would also contribute.
MISTRY: But for Tamils who have left Sri Lanka, deep scars remain. In Melbourne, about 60 people gathered at Federation Square, to remember those killed during the military's final offensive in 2009. The protestors say 40,000 civilians were killed. Adrian Sinnappu is from The Consortium of Tamil Associations. He says Tamils can't forget the brutality of the past and he says the ethnic conflict is far from over.
SINNAPPU: Tamil people are still living in fear in incarceration and detention centres and refugee camps. What we've been fighting for is not solved. It's only the Sri Lankan government militarily defeated an organisation fighting for the independence. That's all that happened so the problem remains.
MISTRY: In April a U-N commissioned report found that 'tens of thousands of civilians' were killed in the final stage of the war, adding that most of those casualties were caused by government shelling. It accused Colombo of shelling indiscriminately and targetting hospitals and other safe zones. But the Sri Lankan Government has rejected the allegations. Rajiva Wijesingha is also the Secretary General of the government's Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process. He says he has personally looked into the allegations contained in the report, and found they aren't supported by evidence.
WIJESINGHA: It's actually quite shoddy let me give you an example. They'd make an allegation about sexual buse in camps. And they'd cite a footnote, which was the Secretary General's report. But when we went to the report and looked at that paragraph it was about what happened in the LTT controlled areas.
MISTRY: The report also criticised the Tamil Tigers, for using civilians as human shields and contributing to the death toll. Wijesingha says Tamils living overseas have been slow to acknowledge atrocities committed by the Tiger rebels and is more concerned with prolonging the conflict, than moving on from it.
WIJESINGHA: The Tamils in Sri Lanka, although they suffered very much from the LTTE. They know they were taken as human shields so they're not holding this against us but obviously some Tamils abroad, not all of them. They realised that they want to push this argument for the moment.
MISTRY: Adrian Sinnappu says if the Sri Lankan government knows it has no case to answer it should agree to an inquiry into possible war crimes.
SINNAPPU: If the Sri Lankan Government has nothing to hide then there is no need to to fear it. We welcome that. We welcome an independent inquiry. We are happy to listen to the independent umpire's decision. If Sri Lanka is genuine about reconciliation they should be willing to come forward and conduct and inquiry and find a peaceful solution to the problem.
MISTRY: Rajiva Wijesingha says he's written to the Secretary General of the UN Ban Ki Moon to point out problems with the advisory report, but the Sri Lankan government is yet to formally respond, because it was assured the report was not official, but meant only to advise the Secretary General.
WIJESINGHA: The Sri Lankan Government didn't want to dignify it by answering immediately. My view is that we still should through an agency such as the peace secretariate now. Make it very clear that we disagree and provide the evidence. But as I said that is a decision for the Executive branch of Government to make, not for me.
MISTRY: So they are still deliberating on that?
WIJESINGHA: I have no idea, I've been away for some time.
MISTRY: But the Tamil community overseas is pressing for a UN resolution for an independent inquiry. The Australian federal member for Melbourne, Greens MP, Adam Bandt, spoke at the rally. He says the Australian government should use its influence with Sri Lanka to ask it to co-operate with the UN.
BANDT: We trade with them we have negotiating and dipolomatic influence with them. And I think perhaps in a country closer to home or pehaps in a country where they were a group that had a louder voice, we would be jumping up and down saying this is unacceptable treatment.
MISTRY: Sri Lankan MP Rajiva Wijesingha says the government is working to engage more Tamils in the reconciliation process. But Tamils say there can be no reconciliation without an independant examination of the past. Adrian Sinnappu again.
SINNAPPU: Without justice there cannot be true reconciliation. They can continue to subjugate and threaten the community but without an international investigation and trying to find the truth and then the perpetrators on both
(source:.radioaustralia.net.au/)
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