Rights group: Tamil suspects raped by government

An international human rights group alleges Sri Lankan security forces continue to use torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence against suspected members of the Tamil Tiger rebels and their supporters, nearly four years after the end of the country's civil war. The military denied the allegations.

In a report released Tuesday, New York-based Human Rights Watch said that although the decades-long war ended in May 2009, politically motivated sexual violence against suspects in custody continues to this day. It called for an international investigation into the practice.

“Sri Lankan security forces have committed untold numbers of rapes of Tamil men and women in custody,” said Brad Adams, the group's Asia director.

“These are not just wartime atrocities but continue to the present, putting every Tamil man and woman arrested for suspected LTTE involvement at serious risk,” Adams said, using the acronym for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the formal name of the rebels.

The violent 26-year war saw ethnic minority Tamil rebels fighting for their own homeland against troops from the Sinhalese majority government. More than 100,000 people were killed on both sides before the government crushed the rebels with a bloody push into rebel-controlled northern areas. A U.N. report has said tens of thousands of civilians were killed in the final five months of fighting alone.

The rebels themselves have been accused of widespread atrocities, including holding civilians as human shields, using child soldiers and killing people who tried to leave areas under their control.

The report comes as the United Nations Human Rights Council is set to discuss Sri Lanka's alleged wartime abuses at its annual meeting in Geneva this week. The United States has said it will introduce a resolution at the meeting urging a full accounting of what happened at the end of the war.

Military spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya rejected Human Rights Watch's allegations, saying they lack credibility. He called them “fabricated allegations” and “good creative writing.”

The 41-page report, titled “`We Will Teach You a Lesson': Sexual Violence against Tamils by Sri Lankan Security Forces,” provides detailed accounts of 75 cases of alleged rape and sexual abuse that occurred from 2006-2012 in both official and secret detention centers throughout Sri Lanka. (AP)

<관련 한글 기사>

男女 잡아다가 고문에 성폭행까지...

스리랑카 보안당국이 타밀족 분리주의자들을 고문하고 성폭행했다는 주장이 나와 논란이 일고 있다.

국제인권단체인 휴먼라이츠워치(HRW)는 26일 (현지시간) 성명을 통해 타밀 타이거 분리주의 반군에 대한 인권 유린이 2009년 내전이 끝난지 3년이 넘게 지난 아직도 성행하고 있다고 발표했다.

HRW의 아시아 쪽 책임자인 브래드 아담스는 “스리랑카의 보안당국은 체포된 타밀족 남녀에 대한 성폭행을 저질렀다”라며 “이러한 행위는 전쟁에서 있었던 잔혹행위로 끝나는 게 아니라 현재까지 계속되고 있는데 이는 체포된 모든 타밀족 남녀들을 타밀 반군(Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) 용의자로 보고 있는 행위입니다.

“쓴맛을 보여주마: 타밀족에 대한 스리랑카 보안당국의 성적인 폭력(We Will Teach You a Lesson': Sexual Violence against Tamils by Sri Lankan Security Forces)”이라고 명명된 HRW의 보고서는 41페이지에 걸쳐 2006년에서 2012년 사이에 있었던 것으로 알려진 성적인 폭력 사건 75건에 대한 상세한 정보를 담고 있다.

타밀 족은 스리랑카 북반부에 거주하는 드라비다계(系) 종족으로 인구는 약 200만 명으로 알려져 있다.

정부와 타밀 반군 사이에서 26년간 지속된 스리랑카 내전은 지난 2009년 종결되었으며 10만명 이상의 희생자를 냈다.

내전 기간 동안 반군들 역시 민간인을 인간방패로 삼고, 아이들을 병사로 이용하는 등 잔혹행위로 비난받아왔다.

한편 스리랑카 군 대변인은 이와 같은 혐의에 대해 “허구(fabricated):라고 일축하면서 “매우 창의적인 글쓰기”일 뿐이라고 말했다.