Sri Lanka and the international community have failed to deliver justice to the victims of three decades-long war Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard said today. Visiting Secretary General participated in the special memorial commemorating the people who died in the war in the Mullaithivu Mulivaikkal area.
A large number of people including social activists from the north paid tribute to the people who died in the war by lighting flowers and candles in front of the special memorial built on the shore of Mullivaikkal to commemorate the people who died in the war.
The Secretary-General of Amnesty International, who participated in this event, also placed flowers and offered tributes and said that Amnesty International will continue to work to bring justice to the Tamil people of Sri Lanka.
Then the representative participated in the commemoration ceremonies organized at various places in the Mullaitivu area and also engaged in a special discussion with the relatives of the people who disappeared during the war.
Speaking at the event Amnesty International Secretary General further said that It is sobering to stand in the same place where, 15 years ago, countless civilian lives were lost during the last days of the war.
“This anniversary is a grim reminder of the collective failure of the Sri Lankan authorities and the international community to deliver justice to the many victims of Sri Lanka’s three-decade-long internal armed conflict.
“Ahead of this event, we have witnessed a clampdown on the memory initiatives, including arrests, arbitrary detentions and deliberately skewed interpretations of the Tamil community’s attempts to remember their people lost to the war. Authorities must respect the space for victims to grieve, memorialize their loved ones, and respect their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
“The Sri Lankan government is best placed to provide answers to the victims, however numerous domestic mechanisms to establish accountability in the last 15 years have been mere window dressing. The report by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights released earlier this week also reiterates the gaping deficits in Sri Lanka’s accountability initiatives that have contributed to impunity remaining deeply entrenched.
Following are some moments of the Mullivaikkal celebration. Photos by Madhavedi Sanath Prayantha.
