The Sri Lankan government must now take action to operationalise truth and reconciliation processes in the country and publish a timetable of action for delivering these accountability measures, Amnesty International (AI)representatives said yesterday.
Speaking at the Sri Lanka Press Institute,Amnesty International Secretary General Salil Shetty argued that there has been a lot of talk but not enough action on the part of the government on reconciliation.
“It does not help that the country will likely have more time to address the matters due to the new United Nations Human Rights Council draft resolution,” Shetty said.
“The government cannot take the next two years as a moment to do nothing. It’s quite the opposite. People have been waiting a long time, and there has been very action on the ground,” the Amnesty International Secretary General said.
“We called on Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to come out with a clear timetable and an action plan on reconciliation, which he promised to do,” he said.
Shetty spoke after traveling throughout the Northern Province and meeting with those affected by the war. He noted that there has been some progress, but that more must be done to help victims and to make sure that they are
kept at the heart of the reconciliation process.
He also called on the government to actualize the Office of Missing Persons and ensure that it can function independently.
Shetty likewise demanded the immediate repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, which he said had created an environment where enforced disappearances flourished.