By Taylor Dibbert
Sri Lanka’s announcement of a special court to handle alleged wartime abuses should still be met with skepticism.
Several weeks ago, Chandrika Kumaratunga announced that Sri Lanka would set up a special court to deal with alleged wartime abuses. Kumaratunga is the chairperson of the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR); she served as President of Sri Lanka from 1994-2005.
The news about a special court came as a surprise to many people. When the initial announcement was made, Kumaratunga stated that the court was expected to begin its work by late December or early January. Yet it remains unclear if that’s still the case.
There are a multitude of reasons to be concerned about this process. Kusal Perera, a Colombo-based journalist, says that “no credible investigation with victim participation is possible” given the sustained militarization throughout the country’s Northern and Eastern Provinces. Furthermore, Perera believes that, since the administration of President Maithripala Sirisena still refuses to release Tamil political prisoners “with no real charges against them, no domestic process will be taken seriously.” There are also broader questions to ponder, including the nature of international involvement and the additional steps which would be taken to ensure that the process is genuine and inclusive.
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