Is Sri Lanka at Risk For a Return to Mass Atrocity? | "Red Flags or Resilience?" Series

Civilians are being displaced from parts of Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu Districts as a result of the Sri Lanka Army's military offensive. There are 350,000 displaced persons in the Vanni. The Govt of SL ordered the UN & international NGOs to leave the area in Sept 2008. Credit: trokilinochchi via wikimedia commons

In May 2009, the long running civil war in Sri Lanka ended with the defeat of ethnic Tamil insurgents by the Sinhalese dominated Sri Lankan armed forces. The manner of this defeat was a mass atrocity event. Tens of thousands of ethnic tamils were trapped in a thin stretch of land as the military bombarded the area.

Since then there has been no accountability for the atrocity crimes committed, nor has there been any meaningful post-conflict peace and reconciliation efforts. In fact, many of those most directly involved in this atrocity are now the most senior political leaders of the country, including the president of the Sri Lanka, Gotobaya Rajapaksa.

Research has demonstrated …