HRW: ‘We will teach you a lesson’

        ‘We will teach you a lesson’: Sexual violence against Tamils by Sri Lankan Security Forces” is a 140page report published on 22 February 2013 giving 75 cases of alleged rape and sexual abuse between 2006-2012 in official and secret detention centres throughout Sri Lanka

According to the HRW the GOSL dismisses the allegations as “fake” and “pro-LTTE propaganda”. When Sri Lanka’s armed forces saved 297,000 Tamil civilians braving LTTE fire and loosing 5000 Government troops in the process, HRW’s “untold number of rapes of Tamil men and women in custody” includes just 75 cases. Are these 75 cases the supposed to be “widespread rape” that has taken place in Sri Lanka?

Widespread rape is what took place in Rwanda in 1994 when over 250,000 women were raped in 3 months, or the UN agency estimates of more than 60,000 women raped in Sierra Leone (1991-2002), or the 40,000 raped in Liberia (1989-2003), or the 60,000 women raped in former Yugoslavia (1992-1995) and the 200,000 raped in the Congo.

Rape was included in 1993 during the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and ICTY became the 1st international court to accuse a person guilty of rape as a crime against humanity – that was 60,000 cases of rape!

In 29 January 2004, the HRW published a report on LTTE’s use of child combatants “Living in Fear – Child Soldiers and the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka” – quote  “Throughout 2003 thousands of children were deployed as combatants, to commit abuses against civilians, as sex slaves, forced labour, messengers, informants and servants in continuing and newly erupting conflicts.

Those accusing fingers pointed at Sri Lanka must take into account that the LTTE areas were out of bounds for the GOSL and Sri Lankan troops. The former LTTE combatants would confirm this. When people like US congressman Danny Davis’s trip to Sri Lanka in 2005 is funded by the LTTE, Congressman Brad Sherman, Rush Holt, David Price takes funds  from pro-LTTE groups – do they have integrity? When MPs like Australian John Murphy, Senator Lee Rhiannon  website is anti-Sri Lankan and  misinforms the House and the Australian public and  their statements are contrary to what Julie Bishop MP and Scott Morrison MP say – we know an international publicity campaign to smear Sri Lanka is taking place.

As a citizen and what probably the rest of the citizens feel is that Sri Lanka’s terrorism is now no more. The terrorists who surrendered are rehabilitated, reintegrated and are doing something with their lives than killing. The people that lived in fear throughout the island especially the Tamil and forced to stay with the LTTE from whom the LTTE took children, women and men to turn into killers can now get on with their lives, schools now have children, teachers have more than chairs to teach, roads that saw no improvement since the 1980s are now a pleasure to travel, neglected  lands are now lush with vegetation, youth now go to movies, cycle and hang out together

But we do agree on one thing and that is accountability – the tiger ground force is no more but its sophisticated tail still remains overseas and wagging.

As for the local LTTE supporters – The Government must immediately implement the 6th amendment to Sri Lanka’s constitution and take punitive action against all according to the law of the country and frame charges for the remaining LTTE combatants for their crimes as well.

courtesy: defence.lk

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http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=Human_Rights_Watch_2013_Sri_Lanka_Sexual_Violence_20130223_05