The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has asked Sri Lanka Army General Sarath Fonseka to meet with U.S. authorities on Wednesday, November 4 in Tulsa. PEARL applauds the U.S. for taking steps towards a long-awaited investigation into war crimes committed by the Sri Lankan government earlier this year.
“We are delighted that the U.S. is following through on its concern about Sri Lanka’s human rights violations, by attempting to solicit information from a high-ranking Sri Lankan official,” says PEARL representative Anjali Manivannan. “As U.S. citizens, we are encouraged by our government’s important first step towards bringing justice to Sri Lanka. We were gravely disappointed by America’s inaction as the death-toll of Tamil civilians climbed into the thousands earlier this year, and we hope to see the U.S. now take stronger leadership in promoting a political solution that respects Tamils’ fundamental rights. PEARL encourages the U.S. to move quickly and effectively to hold the Sri Lankan government accountable for its war crimes.”
On October 22, the war crimes office of the U.S. Department of State's issued a 67-page report detailing the numerous human rights violations and atrocities committed during the first five months of 2009, as Sri Lanka completed an intense military offensive against Northern Sri Lanka. Fonseka, who led Sri Lanka’s war against Tamil territories from August 2006 to May 2009, is referenced in the Department of State's report as stating “that the military had to overlook traditional rules of war and even killed LTTE rebels who came to surrender carrying white flags during the war against the LTTE.”
Fonseka is a U.S. Green Card holder and an aspiring U.S. citizen and thus can be held accountable to U.S. law enforcement agencies. PEARL strongly commends the U.S. for its ongoing inquiry into Sri Lanka’s human rights abuses and urges the Obama Administration to demonstrate its commitment to international humanitarian law by initiating a fully-fledged investigation into Sri Lanka’s war crimes.
Sri Lanka has experienced a brutal ethnic conflict between the Sinhalese-dominated government and the Tamil minority, who have been discriminated against since Sri Lanka’s independence. Over 125,000 lives have been lost in the conflict, of which the overwhelming majority is Tamil.
People for Equality and Relief in Lanka (PEARL) is a registered non-profit, human rights advocacy group composed of over 3,600 Americans and 4,300 international members concerned about the crisis in Sri Lanka. PEARL was formed in 2005 after a group of students volunteered in Sri Lanka and were exposed firsthand to the stories of suffering there.
