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“In Sri Lanka, the Government still has not answered basic demands for accountability and reconciliation, where attacks on civil society activists, journalists and religious minorities, sadly still continue,” Secretary Kerry said during the launch of the 2013 reports. He said Washington’s concern about the situation had led the country to support another UN Human Rights Council resolution at the March session that begins on Monday (3).
“We will do so because we know countries that deny human rights and human dignity challenge our interests as well as human interests,” Kerry said during his reference to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka was one of only four countries to earn an entire paragraph in Secretary Kerry’s speech at the launch, the others being Syria, Venezuela and North Korea.
The Sri Lanka report said ongoing serious human rights problems include disappearances and a lack of accountability for thousands who disappeared in previous years, and widespread impunity for a broad range of human rights abuses, such as torture by Police and attacks on media institutions and the Judiciary.
“Authorities maintained effective control over the security forces. Security forces committed human rights abuses,” the report said in its executive summary.
In a damning indictment of the Government’s attitude to high officials of the UN, the report said that while the Sri Lankan Government had stated that it welcomed the visit of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, “Government officials verbally attacked” the official before, during and after her visit.
“Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa stated that he believed Pillay was influenced by LTTE elements during her visit, and 
President Rajapaksa questioned why Pillay did not raise the human rights concerns she publicly announced during their meeting together,” the report noted.
The 2013 Report said that there was an increase in discrimination and attacks against religious minorities, especially Muslims and evangelical Christians.
The report pointed to “diminished democratic activity” as a result of the failure to prosecute perpetrators of attacks and threats against Government critics by pro-Government loyalists. It said Government officials and others tied to the ruling coalition enjoyed a high degree of impunity.
Suggesting a new development in Washington’s scrutiny of the Sri Lankan situation, an entire section of the report focused extensively on corruption and a lack of transparency in Government. “Nepotism and cronyism continued and ruling party loyalists allegedly received favoured consideration for high-ranking Government and business positions. Corruption watchdogs claimed that corruption extended to the highest levels of Government,” it said.
The US report added that individuals suspected of association with pro-Government paramilitary groups committed killings, kidnappings, assaults, and intimidation of civilians. “There were persistent reports of close, ground-level ties between paramilitary groups and Government security forces,” it observed.
The shooting of three civilians by the Army in Weliweriya, Parliamentarian Duminda Silva’s involvement in the killing of SLFP strongman Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra, suspicious prison deaths in Vavuniya and Welikada and the periodic censorship of the internet were all highlighted in the Sri Lanka report.
The report was compiled by the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour.
