URU, Alm.del - 2010-11 (1. samling) - Bilag 82: Henvendelse af 22. januar 2011 fra Women for Justice and Peace om rapport om stigende etnisk nationalisme i Sri Lanka

22 January 2011Marion PedersenChairmanForeign Affairs CommitteeCc:Malou AamundVice-ChairmanForeign Affairs CommitteeDear Marion PedersenMinority Rights Group: Report on Rising ethnic nationalism in Sri LankaPlease share this with all the members of the Committee.We Women for Justice and Peace wish to bring the following to your attention:http://www.minorityrights.org/10463/press-releases/rising-ethnic-nationalism-in-sri-lanka-targets-minorities-for-abuse-new-report.htmlRising ethnic nationalism in Sri Lanka targets minorities for abuse – newreport, 19 January 2011:Human rights violations in Sri Lanka continue unabated against ethnic Tamilsand Muslims who fear an increasingly nationalist government, a new report byMinority Rights Group International says.Nearly two years after the end of the war, minorities face daily repression andmarginalisation in politics and development policies, particularly in thecountry's north and east, documents the report.The report titled ‘No war, no peace: the denial of minority rights and justice inSri Lanka’ includes groundbreaking first-hand research from the north and eastof the country, including areas that international and national media and NGOshave limited access to.‘Despite the end of the war, many Tamil and Muslim minorities in Sri Lankacontinue to live in fear, ’ says Mark Lattimer, Executive Director of MRG.The report quotes minority political leaders and activists who express seriousfear of a state based on Sinhala hegemony. It documents cases of land intraditional Tamil and Muslim areas being seized by military and civilianauthorities and used for the construction of everything from military

encampments and a power plant to hotels and leisure facilities. The report alsoexpresses concerns by minority activists at the sudden proliferation of Buddhisttemples and religious symbols in Tamil and Muslim areas, which they argue ispolitically sponsored.In 2009 the Sri Lankan government declared that the country’s 30 year conflictwas over after it successfully defeated the Tamil Tiger rebels who had beenfighting for a separate homeland for ethnic Tamils. In the immediate aftermathof the war the country faced a huge humanitarian crisis with more than250,000 people displaced and interned in camps for months.The report says that while many of those displaced in the last stages offighting have been moved out of the camps, the resettlement process has nottaken place according to international standards. It also stresses the need forthe government to provide for the return and resettlement of over 200,000 ‘olddisplaced’, who lost their homes in earlier stages of fighting. This includes asubstantial number of Muslims who were forcibly displaced by the Tigers fromthe north in 1990.‘The situation in the resettlement areas in the north and east is very worrying,particularly as international and national media and NGOs have restrictedaccess. There is a high level of militarisation and state control over freedom ofmovement and association, with local women vulnerable to sexual abuse andharassment,’ says Lattimer.The report argues that the government is doing little to resolve some of theoriginal minority grievances that led to the conflict, such as violations ofphysical integrity including torture and enforced disappearances, lack ofpolitical autonomy and denial of language rights.‘The government has made little mention of greater political autonomy forminorities which has always been a key demand of Tamils and Muslims. Infact, the government is now proposing legislation to change the electoralsystem in a way that threatens to decrease their political representation,’Lattimer adds.The report makes a series of recommendations to the Sri Lankan governmentincluding asking for a published policy to address minority rights issues, theresumption of all-party negotiations aimed at reaching an agreement onpolitical representation and governance for minorities, and the development ofan impartial and credible mechanism for justice and reconciliation in thecountry.‘We urge the Sri Lankan government not to lose the opportunity to bring in alasting peace that can be enjoyed by all communities in Sri Lanka. Justice,

reconciliation and human rights protection are essential for peace to become areality for all,’ Lattimer says.What is given in the report go to show that many of the Articles in theInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights have been violated. Theevidence given to the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission within thelast 8/9 months by retired, conscientious Sinhalese of high profile and religiousclergy go to show how these rights have been violated from the time ofindependence:http://transcurrents.com/tc/2010/09/jayanatha_dhanapala_submission.htmlJayantha Dhanapala’s oral presentation to LLRC, 2 September 2010:‘’ The recent history of Presidential Commissions has been a dismal anduninspiring one. We have the Udalagama Commission which was aborted andwe have a number of Commission Reports which have not been implemented…I believe that your Commission has been appointed one year too late…. Theconflict that has ravaged our country is not only the result of the perversityand the venality of the LTTE and its leader Prabakaran, but also the cumulativeeffect of bad governance on the part of successive Governments in Sri Lanka.Our inability to manage our own internal affairs has led to foreign interventionbut more seriously has led to the taking of arms by a desperate group of ourcitizens.I think we need to rectify this bad governance and the first and foremost taskbefore us is to undertake constitutional reform in order to ensure that we haveadequate devolution of power. We have already missed several opportunities inthe past; we have had an APRC functioning for quite some time but its reportis still languishing in obscurity and needs to be presented to the public of SriLanka for discussion. We need to have State reform; we need to have rule oflaw established; we need to ensure non discrimination amongst our citizens;we need to have devolution of power, tolerance of dissent and strengthening ofdemocratic institutions.''(Dhanapala is a Sinhalese and was formerly UNUnder-Secretary General for Disarmament).Time is running out to save those oppressed for more than six decades.Ethnic Violence, Development and Human Rights, Netherlands Institute ofHuman Rights Consultation - Utrecht, 1-3 February 1985: ‘'..... there is animmediate need for the creation of an independent group which would havethe function of making clear and making widely known the present seriouscondition of the Tamil people and their genuine demands.”Ethnic Conflict and Violence in Sri Lanka - Report of International Commissionof Jurists 1981: ‘’The fate of the Tamils in Sri Lanka remains a matter ofinternational concern''.