UN rights chief concerned Sri Lanka 'increasingly authoritarian'

The United Nations Human Rights Commissioner, Navy Pillay, says she fears that Sri Lanka is heading in an increasingly authoritarian direction.

Ms Pillay was speaking after a week-long visit to assess the human rights situation in Sri Lanka, four years after the end of a 25 year civil war with Tamil separatists.

"I am deeply concerned that Sri Lanka... is showing signs of heading in an increasingly authoritarian direction," she said.

She says that she is concerned about the degree to which the "military appears to be putting down roots and becoming involved in what should be civilian activities, for instance education, agriculture and even tourism."

Ms Pillay said it was "utterly unacceptable" that rights activists who spoke with her during the fact-finding mission had subsequently faced harassment by the police and the military.

"You don't invite a person like me and then do this type of thing," she said.

"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."

She urged the government of President Mahinda Rajapakse to de-militarise the former war zones in the country's east and north following the end of the ethnic war in 2009.

"It is important everyone realize that although the fighting is over, the suffering is not," she said.

Ms Pillay began her visit last weekend after Colombo appeared to drop its public hostility towards her and the UN rights body, which had adopted two resolutions against the island in as many years, visiting the former northern war zones in Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and the eastern district of Trincomalee. 

She has publicly called for a war crimes investigation into what the UN calls "credible allegations" that up to 40,000 civilians were killed during the final stages of the separatist war.

In a statement from his office after meeting with the UN human rights chief on Friday, President Rajapakse said Sri Lanka believes the United Nations is a biased organisation, and Ms Pillay's report, due next month, had already prejudged the country.