Sri Lankan Violence Against The UN Erupts

By Tala Dowlatshahi

Hundreds of protesters broke through police barricades Tuesday outside the UN office in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Civilians are angered by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon’s call for an independent three person panel of experts to investigate alleged human rights violations committed by the Sri Lankan government during the final stages of war against Tamil Tiger separatists in May 2009. 

Some two-hundred UN personnel were trapped inside the compound when protesters broke through police lines. UN spokesperson Farhan Haq said this afternoon:

“We have been contacting Sri Lankan officials at all levels as for the safety of staff. It has been clear visitors were blocked from entering the compound. As of now, all staff have been able to leave the offices.”

A massive opposition to the UN investigation is mounting.  A 118-member body calling themselves the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is leading the opposition. The group sent a letter of protest to the Secretary-General this week demanding a full stop to the investigation and citing the panel of experts would act “against the clearly expressed wished of the country concerned, and without any mandate from the (UN) Human Rights Council, the Security Council or the General Assembly.”

The protests this morning were led by the government including Housing Minister Wimal Weerawansa. The group demanded the UN to end its probe and burned an effigy of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.  Government officials allege that Ban Ki-Moon wants to force a break in the country’s current unification and path towards peace. 

The government has put the blame back on the Tamil Tigers, which it calls a terrorist organization that brutally tortured thousands for nearly three decades. The UN estimates some 7,000 people were killed in the final stages of fighting last May. 

Since the fighting ended, the international community including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have put pressure on the government of Sri Lanka to be open to an investigation which would allow for closure and ensure the government acted in an accountable and transparent manner.