Twenty years after 17 aid workers from the French humanitarian association Action contre la Faim (ACF) were killed in Muttur, eastern Sri Lanka, the authorities must finally deliver truth, justice and reparations, Amnesty International said today.
On 4 August 2006, 17 Sri Lankan employees of ACF – 16 Tamils and one Muslim – were found shot dead at close range at the organization’s office. Despite repeated investigations and commitments by successive governments, no one has been brought to justice for the killings. This prolonged failure has denied victims’ families their right to truth and justice, and undermined confidence in the rule of law and the authorities’ commitment to justice for war crimes.
“Twenty years is far too long for families to wait for justice. For two decades, those who lost their loved ones have carried the burden of grief while the Sri Lankan authorities have failed to deliver accountability,” said Babu Ram Pant, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for South Asia.
Twenty years is far too long for families to wait for justice
Babu Ram Pant, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for South Asia
“The twentieth anniversary must not become another milestone marked only by remembrance. It should mark the moment when the authorities finally demonstrate that no one is above the law and that crimes under international law and serious human rights violations will no longer be met with impunity.”
The ACF employees had remained in Muttur to provide humanitarian assistance to communities affected by the armed conflict and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, despite escalating hostilities between the Sri Lankan government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Over the past two decades, despite repeated official commitments, domestic investigations (which included a magisterial inquiry, a human rights commission probe, and a commission of inquiry), no accountability for the killing has been established.
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