IN A REPORT released in Geneva on September 9, the Center for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, a component of the International Commission of Jurists, called for the prosecution of armed forces, police and local militia personnel who, it says, have been responsible for thousands of killings and disappearances in Sri Lanka since 1983.
Since 1990, the majority of those killed have been Tamils. After a decline in 1994-95, there was a significant resurgence in 1996, mainly in the Jaffna peninsula, where the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are fighting for independence, the report noted.
"Steps so far taken to punish those responsible for the killings have been manifestly inadequate. A culture of impunity has developed", the CIJL said.
The report also criticised the excessive powers of detention without trial and the lack of proper powers of supervision and control by parliament and the judiciary.
The report was released a day after the Sri Lankan government extended for another month the nationwide state of emergency imposed in August, on the grounds that it was needed to maintain "law and order".
On the same day, Sri Lankan president Chandrika Kumaratunga flatly rejected unconditional peace talks offered by the LTTE a week earlier and supported by the mainly Sinhalese United National Party.
The LTTE has proposed a fresh dialogue through neutral third-party mediation.