A top UN official is in Sri Lanka to press for an investigation into possible human rights abuses commited during the last stage of the army’s battle against the Tamil Tigers.

Listen to an interview with Iqbal Athas

Concern about welfare
Lynn Pascoe, UN chief of political affairs, says he is concerned about the welfare of thousands of Tamil civilians interned in government-run camps.

The government in Colombo had promised the UN that 80 percent of displaced people would be sent back to their homes before the end of the year, but it now looks unable to meet that deadline.

Speed up the process
Iqbal Athas, from Jane’s Defence Weekly in Colombo, told Radio Netherlands the visit may have the effect of speeding up the process:

“His visit comes against the backdrop of concerns expressed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon during his visit to Columbo some time back. He had talks with President Rahinda Rajapakse, one of the subject they discussed was the speedy resettlement of internally displaced persons in camps in the north.

“Already the government is going ahead with it – probably he’s hoping to see that the government expedites the process.”

Human shields
The UN calculates that up to 7,000 civilians died in the bloody battle to beat the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at the beginning of the year, but Sri Lanka denies any of them were killed by its security forces and blamed the rebels for using them as human shields.

There are an estimated 300,000 people living in refugee camps, which are closely guarded by Sri Lankan authorities. Iqbal Athas says the need to move them will become particularly urgent in coming weeks as the rainy season starts in Sri Lanka.

“The fear at the moment is the onset of what’s called the northeast monsoon, when the area tends to get flooded. This is bound to cause more difficulties for the IDPs particularly in light of the makeshift camps in which they are living.

“These are 8 ft by 8 ft camps where a large number of various families are settled.”