The Irrawaddy Magazine |
- Burma Army Offensive Continues in Kachin State
- KIA Spokesman: ‘Loud Explosions Will Scare People’
- Assessment Highlights Ongoing Deficiencies of Burma’s Human Rights Commission
- Final Chapter on Renovation of World’s Largest Book
- Ceasefire Signatories Agree to Code of Conduct
- SE Asia Faces Threat of Islamic State-Styled Terror Attacks
- India Opens Boardrooms to Women but Few Mid-Career Dropouts Return
- UN Group Asks Sri Lanka Gov’t to Deliver on Pledges about Missing People
| Burma Army Offensive Continues in Kachin State Posted: 19 Nov 2015 05:17 AM PST  A map with scissors marking clashes in Kachin State's Mohnyin Township between government troops and the Kachin Independence Army in November. (Photo: Myawaddy / Facebook) RANGOON — Burma's Armed Forces continued their offensive on Kachin Independence Army (KIA) positions in Kachin State's Mohnyin Township on Thursday, firing artillery rounds since 7 am, according to locals. KIA spokesperson La Nan told The Irrawaddy earlier this week that Kachin forces had already abandoned three bases in the township since Saturday, after "intense" attacks launched by government troops who utilized a jet fighter, helicopter gunships and ground artillery. Information Minister Ye Htut told The Irrawaddy on Thursday the government had no plans to call on the Burma Army to cease its offensive operations in Mohnyin, citing the need to protect public security in the area. He said the KIA's 8th brigade had only been based in Mohnyin for around 12 months. "The fighting will stop if the KIA troops go back to their place," Ye Htut said. "As the Tatmadaw is doing what they need to protect the security of the people in Mohnyin, we won't ask them to stop." Thursday's attack came exactly one year since government troops shelled a KIA training camp near the group's headquarters in Laiza, killing 23 cadets from various ethnic armed groups. Local religious leader and Mohnyin resident La Nan—who has the same name as the KIA spokesperson—told The Irrawaddy around 300 villagers had fled their homes on Thursday and were temporarily sheltering in his church. In Kachin State, government troop deployments increased in Mohnyin, Putao, Sumprabum and close to Laiza and Hpakant in the lead-up to the country's Nov. 8 general election, according to Lamai Gum Ja of the Kachin Peace Talk Creation Group, an organization involved in mediating ceasefire negotiations with the government. Lamai Gum Ja said Burmese troops had accused the KIA of attacking the military's Battalion No. 141, a claim the Kachin armed group denied. Ye Htut said the recent clashes underlined the fact that the KIA did not want to be a part of the "nationwide" ceasefire agreement that was signed between Naypyidaw and eight armed groups on Oct. 15. Several of the country's most formidable non-state armed forces have not signed the agreement, including the Shan State Army-North which has also been subject to intensified Burma Army offensives in recent weeks. The KIA's La Nan told The Irrawaddy the armed group would show restraint in the face of continued Burma Army attacks. "We want peace, and we are willing to march toward political dialogue and keep trying to proceed," he said. "We will resist if the government army gears up its offensive. [But] after this conflict, we will not attack their battalions as revenge." The post Burma Army Offensive Continues in Kachin State appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| KIA Spokesman: ‘Loud Explosions Will Scare People’ Posted: 19 Nov 2015 04:04 AM PST  La Nan, a spokesperson for the Kachin Independence Army. (Photo: Sai Zaw / The Irrawaddy) It has been one year to the day since the Burma Army rained artillery fire onto a rebel training facility in Kachin State, killing 22 cadets from various non-state armed groups. Much has changed in the past year; a ceasefire has been signed between the government and eight rebel groups, and a Nov. 8 general election has determined that Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) will form the next government. But in parts of Kachin State, sweeping change does not look likely. In fact, the situation has worsened for many in the conflicted hinterlands, where government troops continue to attack the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), leaving many civilians terrified, displaced and desperate. On Nov. 14, fighting broke out between the Burma Army and the KIA in the state's Mohnyin District, near the border with Sagaing Division. Two days later, the government employed airstrikes against the KIA's eighth brigade, just two miles from the district's principal town. The Irrawaddy recently spoke with La Nan, a spokesperson for the KIA, about the latest situation on the ground and the root causes of the conflict. Could you update us on the current situation in Mohnyin? The fighting on Nov. 16 was extreme, but there was no counter-attack from our side. The government attacked with artillery, helicopters and ground forces against our small bases. I can say that this week's operation by the government was the biggest one, and we didn't fight back because we had already withdrawn our troops on the 15th, so they were attacking empty camps. Residents say the fighting took place only two miles from Mohnyin Town, though you seem to be saying there were no KIA troops there. Mohnyin District is a centrally important location for the government, and I think they may have some military purpose. It's possible that they want to show their military capabilities and intentionally pose a threat to the local people in Mohnyin. During the election period, the Union Solidarity and Development Party [USDP] thought that they would win in the Mohnyin constituency. To their disappointment, they lost to the NLD candidate. So maybe they are just displaying their military might to the residents, because, even if there is no KIA camp, loud explosions will scare people. That's my assumption. So the attack involved air strikes? That is correct, and everyone in Mohnyin knows it. Yesterday [Monday] at about noon, two helicopters bombed Mohnyin and the next air crew kept up the assault until 5pm—they really did it. Whenever the government clashes with the KIA, they use air operations. How many people were injured in the clashes, and what is the situation of the KIA's defense? Fighting began suddenly on Nov. 14, they invaded powerfully, in the evening we abandoned frontline camps and also deserted Battalion 8 on Nov. 16. They attacked with artillery and helicopters, so we had no chance to fight back with our small weapons and we moved on to the next place. We did not fight back to avoid injuries, but anyway, there will be injuries and deaths from both sides of the clash. About two soldiers were injured on our side, but I can't say exactly how many people were hit and I have heard that some government soldiers were also wounded. Mohnyin residents said several wounded soldiers arrived but we don't know the numbers yet. How many soldiers died in the fighting is not really the point, the main point is that there is a reason they attacked us. Has there been conflict in Mohnyin before? There has been almost three decades of silence in Mohnyin. Armed clashes happened between the government and the KIA in 2011, but there were no sparks in Mohnyin. The KIA constantly instructed the comrades to avoid any upsets because of the election period. Lower fronts also follow the instruction of the headquarters. The conflict in Mohnyin is one-sided, so think about who plotted the fighting. How will this incident impact the relationship between the government and the KIA, and how will the KIA attempt to resolve it? We can't say right now how we will approach this. We want to resolve all of the current problems. We want peace, and we are willing to march toward political dialogue and keep trying to proceed. We will resist if the government army gears up its offensive. After this conflict, we will not attack their battalions as revenge. A new government will emerge from the current political situation. We will discuss with the new government about their policy on armed ethnic groups, and we will activate political debates. From our side, we will show restraint to prevent fighting in Kachin State. The post KIA Spokesman: 'Loud Explosions Will Scare People' appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Assessment Highlights Ongoing Deficiencies of Burma’s Human Rights Commission Posted: 19 Nov 2015 02:57 AM PST  Police look on as student protesters detained following a violent police crackdown at Letpadan on March 10 arrive for a court appearance at Thayawady on Tuesday morning. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burma's human rights commission is at risk of being viewed as an "alibi institution" in the service of the government, according to the findings of a fact-finding mission, presented at a press conference in Rangoon on Wednesday. FORUM-ASIA and Burma Partnership, together with Smile Education and Development Foundation and Equality Myanmar, led a mission to the country from Nov. 16-18 to assess the impact and effectiveness of the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHCR), over a year since its reconstitution. The observation team, which included the former chair of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea Professor Kwong-Whan Ahn and chair of the National Human Rights Commission of Indonesia Nur Kholis, noted in a statement Wednesday that the human rights situation in Burma remained grave and, in some respects, was regressing. "While there have been positive developments in some areas relating to democratization and human rights in Burma… progress has stalled and the situation has even worsened in many other areas," the statement said. "These include issues such as illegal land grabbing and abuses related to extractive industries, restrictions on the rights to freedoms of expression, association and assembly through repressive and archaic legislation, the tenuous peace process and human rights violations in the ethnic areas, among others." Professor Kwong-Whan Ahn said there were ongoing doubts over whether the MNHRC, first established by presidential decree in September 2011, was genuinely independent of the executive. He noted serious deficiencies in the commission's investigation into the death of journalist Par Gyi in military custody in October last year, claiming Ma Thandar, the deceased's widow, had been denied access to the rights body. In September, the commission, which is headed by Win Mra, a former ambassador to the UN in New York under the previous military junta, drew a rare commendation from lawyers and activists after calling for action against police personnel who "failed to follow the procedures" during the violent dispersal of student protesters at Letpadan in Pegu Division on March 10. However, Kwong-Whan Ahn criticized the MNHCR for failing to cite human rights violations and remedies in addressing the crackdown. Betty Yolanda of FORUM-ASIA, who headed the mission, said the case of Letpadan also involved the right to freedom of assembly, which was not cited by the rights body. Aung Min Khaing, one of scores of students and their supporters detained following the crackdown, said at Wednesday's press conference he was badly beaten by police. He was only 16 years old and remained in detention at Thayawady Prison for two months. Soon after his release, he filed a complaint with the MNHRC over his treatment. "We asked [the MNHRC] whether they could help us to sue the authorities over violations of our human rights. They replied that… they can only release a statement, help find proof or send a letter to government," he said. The civil society mission noted that the commission had increased its activities as it sought international recognition in a crucial year for the body. The commission is due to have its accreditation assessed by the International Coordinating Committee (ICC) for National Human Rights Institutions this month. The ICC accreditation system will determine whether the MNHRC is in compliance with the Paris Principles which set internationally recognized benchmarks for national human rights institutions to abide by. Myo Win, director of Smile Education and Development Foundation, said the MNHRC should be more transparent in the selection of its commissioners and in the handling of complaints and that its investigations should include calls for accountability for human rights abuses. "The investigations conducted by the MNHRC appear to sometimes be riddled with inconsistencies and discrepancies. In some instances, the human rights perspective has been grossly overlooked," the joint fact-finding mission said in a statement. "This not only undermines the MNHRC's own credibility, but also allows injustice to continue." The groups' urged the commission to "fearlessly" and "systematically" investigate human rights abuses and rigorously monitor for the implementation of its recommendations. Burma's human rights record was recently assessed by the UN Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review mechanism, just two days before the country's general election. The Human Rights Council's report, published on Nov. 10, outlined 281 recommendations from foreign governments, rights groups and civil society organizations. Of these, the government accepted 124, noted 69 and deferred 88. Five of the Universal Periodic Review's recommendations called for greater powers for the MNHRC. The post Assessment Highlights Ongoing Deficiencies of Burma's Human Rights Commission appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Final Chapter on Renovation of World’s Largest Book Posted: 19 Nov 2015 01:38 AM PST  One of the 729 stone tablets that comprise the Kuthodaw inscriptions is pictured in Mandalay. (Photo: Asean Community / Facebook) RANGOON — An ambitious renovation at Mandalay's Kuthodaw Pagoda, home to a set of stone inscriptions known as "the world's largest book", is almost complete, according to the project's implementing partners. Burma's Ministry of Culture teamed up with Sydney University's Buddhist Studies Program earlier this year to clean, document and translate the site's 729 stone tablets, which are believed to have been inscribed in 1868. The cleaning process and photographic documentation is already complete, according to the director of Mandalay Division's Department of Archaeology, Nyo Myint Tun. The inscriptions—which contain the entire Pali canon of Theravada Buddhist teachings—will be translated to Burmese, then into English. Sydney University will also produce a book about the sacred site, one of the many popular religious destinations in central Burma. Nyo Myint Tun said that with proper maintenance the site could become a major tourist attraction. "These stones are marble, they need to be preserved and cleaned very carefully. Now it seems better [maintained] than in the past," he said. The site, officially called Maha Lawkamarazein, is already a draw for visitors touring Mandalay's abundant religious relics. The hundreds of stone slabs, each housed within its own masonry shrine at the foot of Mandalay Hill, were first installed during the reign of King Mindon. The United Nations' cultural agency, Unesco, added the Kuthodaw Inscriptions to its Memory of the World register in 2013. The post Final Chapter on Renovation of World's Largest Book appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| Ceasefire Signatories Agree to Code of Conduct Posted: 18 Nov 2015 10:33 PM PST  Burma Army representative Lt-Gen Yar Pyay, left, and ethnic leader Gen. Saw Aik Zet Phone of the Karen National Union exchange binders on decisions reached at the Joint Implementation Coordination Meeting on Wednesday. Representatives of eight non-state armed groups and the Burma Army agreed to a code of conduct for signatories to the so-called nationwide ceasefire agreement during their second Joint Implementation Coordination Meeting on Wednesday, just over a month after signing the peace pact. The meeting in Naypyidaw was led by Vice President Dr. Sai Mauk Kham on the government side and Pado Kwe Htoo Win for the non-state armies, comprising seven ethnic rebel groups and the All Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF). The two-day meeting that began this week on Tuesday also discussed the road ahead for Burma's peace process and reviewed progress made at the stakeholders' previous meeting at the end of October, according to participants. "We were able to approve the Joint Monitoring Committee members, the guidelines for the JMC tasks and the code of conduct for the armed groups [both government and rebel] to follow," said Pado Kwe Htoo Win, the Karen National Union (KNU) secretary and an ethnic leader attending the Joint Implementation Coordination Meeting. The joint committee is made up of 26 representatives tasked with monitoring implementation of the ceasefire agreement. Ten representatives have been drawn each from the government and from among the eight ceasefire signatories, with the remaining six representatives being civilian leaders put forward by both sides. One member of the latter contingent is Ko Ko Gyi, a prominent pro-democracy leader with the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society. At the Union level, the Joint Monitoring Committee is being chaired by Lt-Gen Yar Pyay of the Burma Army, with Gen. Saw Aik Zet Phone of the KNU serving as vice chairman. They will form the respective state-level Joint Monitoring Committees in Shan, Chin and Karen states, where rebel signatories to the ceasefire control territory. Formation of the Joint Monitoring Committee is in line with the peace process framework laid out in the nationwide ceasefire agreement signed on Oct. 15 in Naypyidaw. Salai Yaw Aung, an ABSDF central committee member and a member of the Joint Monitoring Committee, told The Irrawaddy that negotiations were on track to see the commencement of a political dialogue by mid-January. Since the signing of the nationwide ceasefire accord, there had been no clashes between government troops in Karen State and parts of Shan State controlled by the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), a ceasefire signatory, Salai Yaw Aung said. The same cannot be said, however, for areas in Shan and Kachin states controlled by the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N) and Kachin Independence Army (KIA), which have not yet signed the ceasefire and have been subject in recent weeks to intensified Burma Army offensives. Several of the country's most formidable ethnic armed groups have not signed onto the nationwide ceasefire agreement. Pado Kwe Htoo Win said signatories to the accord had not engaged in further fighting with the government "because we all value the NCA [nationwide ceasefire agreement] text," while adding that he was concerned by the ongoing hostilities in Shan and Kachin states. "Because we have this NCA text, which is meant to stop the war nationwide—all of the participating groups in drafting the NCA also wanted the war to stop—we told the government representatives to help stop the current conflicts in Shan State," he said. The Burma Army mouthpiece Myawady, which was cited by the Global New Light of Myanmar on Wednesday, said aerial strikes had been used on a KIA camp in Kachin State's Mohnyin Township. "The Tatmadaw are continuing to comb the area of the KIA," the English-language daily reported. The ceasefire implementation team is due to meet with representatives of the country's 91 political parties on Saturday to discuss drafting a framework for the political dialogue, which is supposed to commence within 90 days of the ceasefire signing. There will be 16 representatives each from the government, non-state armed groups and political parties involved in drafting the framework, Pado Kwe Htoo Win said. State media on Thursday called the as-yet-unformed body the Union Peace Dialogue Joint Committee, reporting that it would be required to draft the framework for political dialogue within 60 days of the 48-member committee's formation. The post Ceasefire Signatories Agree to Code of Conduct appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| SE Asia Faces Threat of Islamic State-Styled Terror Attacks Posted: 18 Nov 2015 09:40 PM PST  Malaysia's deputy home minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed is photographed before an interview with Reuters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, November 18, 2015. (Photo: Olivia Harris / Reuters) KUALA LUMPUR — Southeast Asia faces the threat of Islamic State-inspired attacks designed to "glamorize terrorism," a Malaysian minister said on Wednesday, voicing fears of battle-hardened fighters returning from Syria to launch Paris-style attacks. In September, Malaysian police thwarted a plot to detonate bombs in Kuala Lumpur's vibrant tourist area of Bukit Bintang. Other recent plots frustrated by Malaysian security forces included plans to raid army camps and seize weapons. "I think the Paris situation can also be transplanted here, in Southeast Asia, where we also have fertile ground for recruitment of such operatives who will receive directives from Syria to carry out attacks," Nur Jazlan Mohamed, Malaysia's deputy home minister, said in an interview. "Such attacks, they hope, will glamorize terrorism and therefore attract more people to join their cause," he said, singling out tourist and entertainment centers in the region as favored targets. Terrorism is high on the agenda of world leaders gathered in Manila for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, in the wake of the deadly attacks in Paris that killed at least 129 people. And the minister's comments follow news of the execution this week of a Malaysian businessman in the Philippines by Abu Sayyaf, an Islamist militant group that had past links to al Qaeda but has more recently shown support for Islamic State. Estimates suggest that more than 500 Indonesians, over 40 Malaysians and a handful of Singaporeans have gone to fight in Syria and Iraq. Hundreds of others were arrested or detained before they could leave the country. In Malaysia, 150 terror suspects have been arrested since Islamic State rose to prominence in 2013. IS Franchise Counter-terrorism will doubtless be on the agenda when Southeast Asian leaders gather in Kuala Lumpur next week for a regional summit, and security has been ratcheted up in the Malaysian capital. "We have upgraded our security information at immigration to make sure there are no suspicious foreigners coming into country and activated anti-terrorism units locally," Nur Jazlan said. Enforcement officials and security experts fear Malaysian militants hiding in Southern Philippines are trying to bring together groups in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines to form a regional branch of Islamic State. Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), the al Qaeda-linked group that carried out the Bali bombings in 2002 that killed over 200 people, could be used to build a network. JI has been most active in Indonesia, but has had cells in several other Southeast Asian countries, whereas there is an array of smaller Islamist militant groups, like Abu Sayyaf, operating more locally in the region. "These groups are just looking for an umbrella organization and IS is becoming that organization for these disparate and separate groups to get together," said Nur Jazlan. Sidney Jones, the head of the Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict and a regional expert on terrorism issues, said there is increasing pressure from Indonesian and Philippine supporters of IS to declare a province of IS in Southeast Asia that would cover Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore. "So far Indonesian would-be terrorists have been pretty incompetent and their Philippine counterparts have been mostly interested in money," she said. "If we got a few experienced professionals coming back from Syria to train local groups, that could be the game-changer." The post SE Asia Faces Threat of Islamic State-Styled Terror Attacks appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| India Opens Boardrooms to Women but Few Mid-Career Dropouts Return Posted: 18 Nov 2015 09:32 PM PST  Tanu Anand, 36, an Indian international tax accountant, poses along with her daughter Tanvi, at her residence in Gurgaon on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, November 17, 2015. (Photo: Anindito Mukherjee / Reuters) NEW DELHI — Tanu Anand, an Indian international tax accountant with 13 years of experience with multinational firms in India, Singapore and Hong Kong, lost hope of resuming her high-flying career after having a baby last year. "I sat at home for eight months rather depressed and very low in confidence. All of a sudden here I was, this person with all this international experience with top firms, sitting there with no opportunities or prospects," said Anand, 36. "I went for many interviews, but they wanted to put me on a slow career path because I had a baby. There was no balance where I could be a good mother and a good employee. I honestly thought of giving up and starting a bakery." A new law may have forced India Inc. to open the boardroom doors to women, but years of sidelining them has led to a high dropout rate among professionals like Anand—resulting in a shortage of women to fill such positions. Around 530 out of 5,711 listed firms have been fined by the Bombay Stock Exchange for not having at least one woman director by the deadline. Other companies appointed relatives such as wives and mothers-in-law who are seen as proxies. Research by Catalyst, a non-profit focusing on women in business, finds the shortage is due to the fact that far more women drop out of the corporate workforce early on in India than in other countries. Catalyst's 2013 report "First Step: India Overview" found that nearly half of Indian women drop off the corporate employment ladder between junior and mid-levels, compared with 29 percent across Asia as a whole. The main reason cited is the lack of support given to women who want to return to work after having a baby, such as extended maternity leave, crèche facilities and flexible hours. "… The pipeline is not available. There are not enough women in senior management currently to occupy all the positions that are opening up for women," said Shachi Irde, Catalyst India's executive director. "Organizations have to focus on inclusion at all levels right from the beginning to ensure that they have a healthy pipeline to move up the ladder." Invisible and Unrecognized Studies conducted by Catalyst, McKinsey, Credit Suisse and others repeatedly show that board diversity leads to better performance in terms of productivity and profitability. A 2012 report by the Credit Suisse Research Institute, for example, found that stocks of large cap companies with at least one woman board director outperformed those with all-male boards by 26 percent over a period of six years. Yet, despite increased efforts by companies and governments around the world to lift the number of women in senior corporate roles, their presence remains stubbornly low. Women hold just 12 percent of boardroom seats worldwide, and only 4 percent of board chairmen are women, according to a June report by Deloitte after studying almost 6,000 firms in 49 countries. In India—despite the prominence of a few businesswomen such as Biocon Managing Director Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, ICICI Bank CEO Chanda Kochhar or HSBC country head Naina Lal Kidwai—the lack of women on boards is even more pronounced. Just 7.7 percent of board seats are held by women in India, compared with 17.5 percent in South Africa and 15.6 percent in the United Kingdom, the Deloitte report showed. As in other countries, Indian women climbing the corporate ladder face the usual unconscious gender biases, being perceived as unambitious, not capable enough, or misplaced home makers, experts say. "Bosses often think that due to family commitments, women cannot stay late in the office, attend events where they can network or take on extra projects. As a result, women are often passed over for promotions," said Sarika Bhattacharyya, co-founder of Biz Divas, a non-profit promoting female leadership. "Women themselves are also not visible enough, even when they are ambitious. As a culture and as a gender, we have always been told from a young age to be humble and not boast about our achievements." Untapped Talent Anand's fate changed in May when she saw a Facebook post from multinational Genpact, looking for qualified, experienced women wanting to return to work but within a flexible environment as part of their "Career 2.0." program. In less than two weeks, she went through six grueling interviews before being offered a job as an assistant vice president under a flexible working arrangement. "The way it is today is that I work hard to strict deadlines but I work with my own flexibilities. If there are no meetings, then I can take my work home. This gives me the opportunity to oversee my young child as well," she said. Research conducted by Genpact estimates there are 1.5 million qualified Indian women like Anand, who have dropped out of corporate jobs largely because they cannot find suitable employment after starting a family. "We thought as part of our initiative to bring in gender diversity, let's introduce a program aimed at attracting these midcareer level women who have taken a sabbatical and are looking to get back into the mainstream," said Urvashi Singh, senior vice president of human resources at Genpact. "We are getting some really, really good talent and we are really excited about this. We have had a terrific response on social media." The Career 2.0. program, launched on Facebook in May, has resulted in more than 1,000 applications and more than 10 women being hired at middle and senior levels such as assistant vice president. Catalyst's Irde says that initiatives like these, together with mentorship programs and policies such as child care facilities and flexible working hours, are key to boosting the number of women breaking through the proverbial glass ceiling. "There is a growing realization in India Inc. to have diversity in the workplace—whether it is in the boardroom or any other level of management," said Irde. "There are enough women there, but you need to look beyond the traditional sources of recruitment to find them." The post India Opens Boardrooms to Women but Few Mid-Career Dropouts Return appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
| UN Group Asks Sri Lanka Gov’t to Deliver on Pledges about Missing People Posted: 18 Nov 2015 09:25 PM PST  A Tamil woman cries as she holds up an image of her family member who disappeared during the civil war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at a vigil to commemorate the international day of the disappeared in Colombo August 30, 2013. (Photo: Dinuka Liyanawatte / Reuters) COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — A United Nations experts group urged Sri Lanka's government on Wednesday to make good on its promises to investigate the cases of thousands of people who went missing in the civil war, saying a local probe had revealed only the "tip of the iceberg." A local commission investigating people's disappearances during the 1983-2009 civil war between government forces and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has said it has received written complaints relating to more than 16,000 missing persons. "We consider this is the tip of the iceberg considering the many disappearances documented by many commissions," Bernard Duhaime, vice-chair of a UN working group on "enforced or involuntary" disappearances, told reporters in Colombo after a 10-day official visit. He said the group had visited a former detention center in the eastern port city of Trincomalee where "interrogation and torture took place" in a navy camp. "This should be properly investigated. There were more than 12 cells. It apparently shows that it was systematically used for detention facility." President Maithripala Sirisena's government agreed last month to establish a credible judicial process involving foreign judges and prosecutors to investigate alleged war crimes during the conflict in line with UN recommendations. His predecessor, Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was unseated in January, rejected requests by the international community to probe war crime allegations, including disappearances while his government rejected visas for UN experts last year. The UN expert group welcomed the government's cooperation and commitment to establish a dedicated office for missing persons. "These promises and commitments must now be followed by concrete efforts and tangible results," the group said in a statement. "The government will need to adopt bold steps to reach out to and create confidence in the victims." It also raised concerns over reported harassment by security forces of relatives of missing people for speaking to the group's members and suggested such intimidation was continuing. The post UN Group Asks Sri Lanka Gov't to Deliver on Pledges about Missing People appeared first on The Irrawaddy. |
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