I have previously posted entries on this blog expressing concern for the estimated 50,000 civilians being held as human shields by the LTTE in the war zone. Should I be happy that the war is over? After all, the Sri Lankan government announced yesterday that all the civilians trapped in the war zone had been rescued by the army. According to a Sri Lankan minister, it had been done “without shedding a drop of blood;” he also said that there “was no bloodbath as some people feared.” I’d like to believe him and the Sri Lankan government. But they’ve denied access to the war zone for months to aid agencies and journalists, so we only have their word for it. As the UN said today, it’s hard to be sure about reports from the former war zone. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) today said that it hadn’t been able to reach the area so it didn’t have first-hand information about the needs of civilians and wounded people in the area.
Amnesty International today called on the Sri Lankan government to provide aid agencies, including the UN and the ICRC, with full access to the former war zone in order to help all those in need of assistance. Beyond that, the government should take additional steps to prevent abuses of the displaced.  We’ve already reported that some young men fleeing the war zone had “disappeared” after being detained by the army. The Sri Lankan government should immediately implement a proper registration process for the displaced civilians and allow international monitors into the area to observe all camps, detention places and registration and screening points.  That’s the best way to protect the displaced and avoid any further human rights violations. I’m sure we all hope for a better future now for Sri Lanka’s long-suffering people. Having the Sri Lankan government open itself now to international scrutiny would be an important step toward securing that future.