Conflict to return unless grievances addressed: US warns Lanka

COLOMBO: Warning Sri Lanka that conflict could return unless it addresses the grievances of minority Tamils, the US said it would renew its "consideration of all mechanisms available" against the country over the human rights issue.

"History has shown that societies that do not adequately address reconciliation and accountability usually return to a conflict situation at some point down the road. Thus, however difficult this process is, it is ultimately vital to the stability of Sri Lanka," US Ambassador Michele Sison said last night addressing a meeting of foreign correspondents here.

A US-sponsored resolution on Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council last month had condemned Colombo for failing to probe alleged war crimes during the nearly three-decade long civil war.

Sison said the Obama administration was working to build global consensus on action against Sri Lanka over the rights issue.

"As we examine next steps, we will renew our consideration of all mechanisms available, both in the Human Rights Council and beyond. But it is important to emphasise that calls for reconciliation and accountability should not simply be seen as exhortations by the international community - reconciliation and accountability should be viewed as essential to ensuring a peaceful and prosperous future for the country."

The 2012 resolution simply asked the government of Sri Lanka to "fulfil its own commitments to its people from its Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) report and to meet its own international obligations", Sison said.

The LLRC was set up by the Sri Lankan government after it came under incessant attacks from the international community over human rights breaches during the last phase of the military conflict with the LTTE.

Sison agreed with Colombo's position that reconciliation and accountability are often long and complicated processes that can take years to complete.

"We understand that. But it is important to start those processes as soon as possible."

Giving reasons for the US' second resolution last March, Sison said, "We looked at the conditions around the country. We compared those to the government's commitments and stated goals. We realised that not only were many of the concerns that led to the first resolution still there, but also that in some ways the situation had deteriorated."

By reconciliation, the US anticipates a Sri Lankan society where all Sri Lankan could live together in peace, harmony and security in a unified country, Sison said.

In terms of accountability, "We mean identifying those responsible for committing abuses and imposing consequences for these acts or omissions."

Separatist war came to an end after the Tamil rebels were defeated in 2009 and almost all of their leadership, including chief Vellupillai Prabhakaran, was killed.