MULLAITIVU, Sri Lanka– For 15 years, Rasalingam Thilakawathi has been trying to find out what happened to her daughter at the end of Sri Lanka’s bloody civil war. Or if she could still be alive.
The last evidence he has is a newspaper photo that shows his 19-year-old daughter sitting inside a bus with other people. The photograph, according to the newspaper, shows Tamil Tiger fighters captured in the final stages of the war in May 2009.
Now, 15 years after the end of the long battle between Sri Lankan government forces and Tamil Tiger separatists, Thilakawathi is searching for answers. Was her daughter among the 100,000 people killed in the 26-year civil war? Many more people are missing.
“Tell me if she is alive or dead,” the mother, who lives in the village of Moongilaaru, in Mullaitivu district, asks the authorities again and again. “If you shot him, tell me you shot him, I’ll take it.”
In the years since the war ended, many of those who lost children or other relatives have become too weak to actively search for their loved ones. Others have died.
“I don’t want to let go, but I can’t walk properly now,” says Soosai Victoria, 74, who has been searching for her son who disappeared at 21. “I’m praying for him to come back. “I think he’s there,” Victoria said.
On Saturday, a memorial service marked the 15th anniversary of the war. It took place on the strip of land in Mullivaikal village where civilians had pitched their tents for the last time before the entire area fell under the control of government forces. It is believed that thousands of people died here.
The island nation of Sri Lanka has been divided by conflict between the Sinhalese Buddhist majority and the Tamil minority, which is Hindu and Christian. The mistreatment of Tamils sparked a rebellion, and Tamil Tiger fighters eventually created a de facto independent homeland in the north of the country. The group was crushed in a 2009 government offensive that U.N. experts say killed tens of thousands of Tamils, many of them civilians.
Both parties were accused of serious human rights violations. The government was accused of deliberately attacking civilians and hospitals and blocking food and medicine for those trapped in the war zone. The Tamil Tigers were accused of recruiting child soldiers, using civilians as human shields, and killing those who tried to escape.
Many blame the United Nations for failing to intervene to stop the bloodshed.
Farmer Subramaniam Paramanandam tells how he and a dozen others pleaded with UN officials and other international humanitarian groups not to leave the battle zone.
When the Tamil Tigers retreated under government attack, Tamil civilians fled with them to their shrinking territory.
“We heard that international organizations were packing their bags to leave,” Paramanandam recalls of the departure of the last group of aid workers. “Upon hearing this, about 10 or 11 of us ran to their offices. We begged them with folded hands not to leave.”
Their pleas went unanswered and the clashes escalated.
“Our sufferings cannot be expressed in words and we only had our trust in the UN and international organizations. Nothing happened,” she said.
Severe criticism of the UN led then-Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to create an internal review panel to examine its actions during the final phase of the war.
Its 2012 report said the relocation had a severe impact on the delivery of humanitarian assistance and reduced the potential to protect civilians.
Citing the report, Ban said it concluded that the UN system failed to live up to its responsibilities.
“This finding has profound implications for our work around the world, and I am determined that the United Nations draws the appropriate lessons and does everything possible to earn the trust of the world’s people, especially those caught up in conflicts who come to the organization seeking help. Ban said.
Thilakawathi and other parents of missing children have demonstrated and protested and said they will continue until they get answers. She has visited state security agencies and government-appointed commissions but has not received any information. She said her daughter was recruited as a child soldier by the Tamil Tigers three years before her disappearance. She worked in her IT department and was afraid that they would take her brothers too if she left them.
Many parents have refused to accept death certificates for their children without information about what happened to them.
Sellan Kandasamy left his wife injured while crossing with his family into the government-controlled area as the fighting was about to end. He hasn’t heard from her since.
“She was not registered and we were not allowed to ask for details. We requested that someone stay with her but they chased us away with poles. So we had to leave her in the rubble and leave,” Kandasamy said as tears filled her eyes.
Paramanandam himself has lost three sons, one who fought for the Tamil Tigers and two who were not part of the fighting went missing when his family moved to escape the bombing.
Paramanandam’s request now is for the UN to ensure that there is accountability for excesses committed by both sides.
“What happened must be investigated, the truth must be uncovered, there must be accountability and there must be guarantees that such things will not happen again.”
A new report from the UN Human Rights Commission recommends the establishment of an independent prosecutor’s office and a special court to bring perpetrators to justice. He also says the international community should pursue prosecutions in their own countries.
“This report is another reminder that tens of thousands of Sri Lankans who were forcibly disappeared must never be forgotten,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk. “Their families and those who care about them have been waiting for a long time. They have a right to know the truth.”
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
