Jaffna, Sri Lanka: Kannadasan Sudaron, Treasurer of the Jaffna University Students’ Union, has asserted that justice for alleged wartime and human rights violations in Sri Lanka cannot be achieved through domestic institutions, calling instead for an international judicial mechanism.
Sudaron made the remarks while addressing the media after participating in a protest held on Thursday near the Sithuppathi Hindu Cemetery in Jaffna.
He alleged that domestic accountability mechanisms established over the years, including the Office on Missing Persons (OMP), have failed to deliver justice to victims.
“We have not yet received justice through the domestic mechanisms that have been continuously proposed. The Office on Missing Persons, as well as the government’s judicial mechanisms, merely collect information rather than provide justice,” he said.
He further claimed that Sri Lanka’s judiciary, which he described as functioning as an instrument of the government, would not be able to address the grievances of affected communities.
According to Sudaron, meaningful accountability can only be achieved through a credible international mechanism.
Commenting on Sri Lanka’s engagement with the European Union, Sudaron noted that the EU restored the country’s GSP+ trade concessions in 2017 after suspending them in 2010. He said the EU had called for the repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) as part of the process but argued that the legislation remains in force.
He also criticized recent visits by European Union representatives, alleging that they had not adequately engaged with affected communities and describing such visits as merely symbolic.
“Our message to the European Union is that the Sri Lankan government will never hold itself accountable for the injustices it has committed. Therefore, a proper international mechanism must be established to address these issues,” Sudaron said.
