Scars of Sri Lanka

Despite government claims of peace, torture and abductions continue to be used to stifle ethnic and political dissent.


The civil war in Sri Lanka ended in 2009 with the victory of President Rajapaksa's forces over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), but there are claims that abduction, torture and even rape of suspected former fighters or sympathisers continues today.

In November 2013, Commonwealth leaders, including British Prime Minister David Cameron, converged on Colombo for the bi-annual heads of government meeting. It was a big moment for Sri Lanka, signalling its emergence from post-war turmoil and acceptance as a functioning democratic state on the international stage.

But the government remains under strong international pressure to hold a credible inquiry in to claims that thousands of civilian Tamils were killed in the closing days of the war when government troops are accused of firing artillery into civilian no-fire zones. The government denies this occurred and accused Tamil Tiger fighters of holding civilians as human shields.