This week marks the second anniversary of the end of Sri Lanka’s 26-year civil war, between government forces and the opposition Tamil Tigers. The Tigers were seeking an independent state for the Tamil minority on the island. As documented by Amnesty International and a recent U.N. panel report, there are credible reports that both sides committed gross abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law, including war crimes. Yet no one has been held accountable for these crimes.
We know that the Sri Lankan government won’t effectively investigate these abuses.
So Amnesty International has been campaigning for an international war crimes investigation in Sri Lanka. On March 15, we took to the streets in Chicago to demand justice in Sri Lanka. In New York City, Amnesty International activists gathered outside the Sri Lankan Mission to the U.N. on April 8 as part of “Get on the Bus – New York.” On April 15, we demonstrated outside the Sri Lankan Embassy in Washington as part of “Get on the Bus – DC.” More recently, as shown in the photos above, Amnesty members in other parts of the U.S. have joined in calling on the U.N. to hold an international investigation on war crimes in Sri Lanka.
It would be a great help if we can get the U.S. government to publicly support our call for an international war crimes investigation in Sri Lanka. Please write the U.S. government today, so that the victims and their families can finally receive truth and justice.