Colombo ( AsiaNews) - Human rights activists and
local NGOs say the first phase of investigations carried out by the government
into the alleged kidnapping and "enforced disappearances" that
occurred in the provinces of the north and east between 1990 and 2009, during the Civil War is "inconclusive". Meanwhile
, President Mahinda Rajapaksa announced it on February 21 that he has extended the
mandate of the Commission in charge of conducting this investigation for
another six months, which will have until August 12, 2014 to collect data and
information.
The
first phase of the investigation was closed February 17 in the district of
Jaffna. Previously,
the Presidential Commission also visited Kilinochchi district (19-21 January). So
far , the Panel has received 16 thousand complaints nationwide.
Several
observers note the timing with which Rajapaksa has decided to extend the
mandate of the Presidential Commission. Next
March a new round of meetings will be held in Geneva, during which the UN
Council for Human Rights is expected to present a third resolution against the
Sri Lankan government, accused of alleged crimes against humanity during the
thirty years of civil conflict and for
failing to implement an effective process of reconciliation with the Tamil
community.
The
Tamils, the second largest ethnic -linguistic group in Sri Lanka, were the
most affected by the civil war, which took place mainly in the northeast of the
island, where they are the majority .
According
to the NGO Law and Society Trust (LST), the way in which the Presidential Commission conducted investigations
in the provinces is questionable. In
particular, the Human Rights group criticizes the massive police and military presence
that "intimidates" people. "It
is well known - reads an LST statement - that for years the families of missing
persons have received constant threats from members of the police force and
army officers". Their
presence therefore hindered the collection of evidence.
In
addition, the NGO criticizes the fact that the Commission has engaged with the
local population using only documents in English, knowing that the official
language in the northeast is Tamil and that many people do not know another
language. "Those
who testified - explains LST - were provided with the assistance of Commission interpreters,
but were never given the opportunity to verify the information they provided".