Even as Sri Lanka observed on Wednesday the seventh anniversary of the end of the Eelam War, issues of reconciliation and accountability remained “largely unaddressed”, according to the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG).
The group said the government “appears to be backtracking” on transitional justice plans, particularly on the role of foreign judges and experts. “Mechanisms promised to the UNHRC [United Nations Human Rights Council] feed Sinhala nationalist suspicions, while attempts to reassure Sinhalese and the military encourage doubts among Tamils about [the] government’s willingness”, it added.
It added that though the “national unity” government has “expanded the political centre and isolated hard-line nationalists”, the window for change has begun to narrow.
