UN HUMAN RIGHTS HIGH COMMISSIONER - DURBAN'S JUDGE NAVI PILLAY - CONDEMNS SRI LANKA FOR CONTINUING TO SUPPRESS THE DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS OF PEOPLE (TAMILS)

South Africa's Navi Pillay, who is the United Nationsl High Commissioner on Human Rights, has condemned the Sri Lankan Government for continuing to deny people their full rights despite the end of the war with the Tamil Tigers and the Tamil people more than four years ago. Judge Pillay, who hails from Durban, was speaking at the end of her week-long visit to the Indian Ocean island country on Friday. During her visit, Judge Pillay met government officials, politicians, human rights activists and people affected by the war. She is to report her findings to the UN Human Rights Council next month. Her visit was clouded in controversy after some of the majority Singalese leaders criticised Judge Pillay of being biased because of her Tamil origins. Judge Pillay supported her interim assessment by saying that the Sri Lankan Government had harrassed and intimidated people she had spoken to victims and others affected by the government's human rights violations. Her Commission team visited Colombo and the North of the Island, where the original inhabitants - the Tamils - of the Island live, to investigate the human rights violations committed by the Sri Lankan Government and Tamil Tigers during the three decade civil war.

The Sri Lankan Government was especially accused of slaughtering more than 60 000 Tamils towards the end of the civil war four years ago. According to one of the international news agencies, Associated Press, Judge Pillay said it was disturbing to hear reports of military or police visiting and questioning villagers with whom she had spoken in the former war zone and alleged intimidation of rights activists she met with. "This type of surveillance and harassment appears to be getting worse in Sri Lanka, which is a country where critical voices are quite often attacked or even permanently silenced. "Utterly unacceptable at any time it is particularly extraordinary or such treatment to be meted out during a visit by the UN high commissioner for human rights," Judge Pillay is quoted as saying. "I wish to stress that that the United Nations takes the issue of reprisals against people because they have talked to UN officials as an extremely serious matter ...". AP reported that the United Nations rights chief has chastised the Sri Lankan Government, saying it is showing signs of heading in an increasingly authoritarian direction despite the end of a civil war four years ago.

AP reported that Pillay said she was "deeply concerned that Sri Lanka, despite the opportunity provided by the end of the war to construct a new vibrant all-embracing state, is showing signs of heading in an increasingly authoritarian direction."

"The war may have ended, but in the meantime democracy has been undermined and the rule of law eroded by the government's move three years ago to abolish provisions for independent police, judiciary and human rights commissions, and give the president the power to appoint officials to the commissions. "The controversial impeachment of the chief justice earlier this year and apparent politicization of senior judicial appointments have shaken confidence in the independence of the judiciary." (Most of the information from Associated Press)