Rajapaksa regime, a worst perpetrator of disappearances - HRW

The Sri Lankan government is responsible for widespread abductions and disappearances that are a national crisis, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today (Mar. 06th).

President Mahinda Rajapaksa, once a rights advocate, has now led his government to become one of the world`s worst perpetrators of enforced disappearances, the HRW report claimed.

The 241-page report, Recurring Nightmare: State Responsibility for `Disappearances` and Abductions in Sri Lanka, documents 99 of the several hundred cases reported.



The vast majority of these cases indicate the involvement of government security forces as well as the Karuna Group and the EPDP, acting either independently or in conjunction with the security forces.

The number of abductions perpetrated by the LTTE is comparatively low since targeted killings, rather than abductions, appear to be the LTTE`s primary tactic.

So long as soldiers and police can commit `disappearances` with impunity, this horrific crime will continue, said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at HRW.

HRW called on the Sri Lankan government to take immediate measures to end the practice of enforced disappearances, vigorously investigate all cases reported, and bring the perpetrators to account.

It also requested cooperation with the UNHCR to establish and deploy an international monitoring team to report on violations of by all parties to the conflict.

HRW also called on Sri Lanka`s international partners, in particular India and Japan, to make further military and other non-humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka contingent on government efforts to halt the practice of disappearances, and to end impunity, including its acceptance of an international monitoring mission.