National Peace Council (NPC) Executive Director Dr. Jehan Perera said that the Valvettithurai Citizens’ Committee (VCC) has quite correctly directed its claim to the Sri Lankan government through the Office for Reparations for 1987 Valvettithurai massacre.
The VCC recently asked for Rs 4.3 bn compensation for the deaths of over 60 persons and destruction of property by the Indian Army.
Responding to The Island query, Dr. Perera has sent us the following response: “The demand by the Valvettithurai Citizens’ Committee put to both the Sri Lankan and Indian governments is not something unprecedented if international experience is considered. The entry of the Indian Peacekeeping Force into Sri Lanka was not a unilateral act but the result of the Indo-Lanka Accord, signed with the consent of the Sri Lankan government. By authorising foreign troops to operate on its territory, Sri Lanka assumed responsibility for the protection of its citizens under international law.
In terms of international law, governments have a duty to protect their citizens from harm, regardless of whether that harm is inflicted by domestic or foreign actors operating with governmental consent. This is why, in cases such as the NATO operations in Kosovo or the UN missions in Congo, host governments have borne responsibility for providing reparations even when the direct harm was caused by external troops.
The Valvettithurai Citizens’ Committee is correct in directing its claim to the Sri Lankan government through the Office for Reparations. Reparations are not only financial demands. They also serve as acknowledgements that the lives lost mattered, and commitments to prevent recurrence. The fact that this demand comes 37 years after the killings is not an aberration. It simply shows that time by itself does not heal wounds that have never been recognised.
In terms of the UN Human Rights Council resolution that was passed last month in Geneva, the government is under obligation of a two-year timeline to deliver on core obligations, including reparations for war-affected communities. The government needs to demonstrate that justice is not selective and that the suffering of all communities, whether Tamil, Sinhalese, or Muslim, and whether harmed by state forces, militants, or foreign troops is acknowledged. “