The Tamil Tigers had attempted to create an independent State in Sri Lanka for years, for the Tamil minority that lives in the country. In the recent months, the government crackdown on the Tamil Tigers turned more frequent and violent, cornering the rebels, but also causing severe damages to the civilians.

While the government declared it had ended the “terrorism” of the Tamil Tigers, there were demonstrations around the world demanding the investigation of the actions of the military in the conflict, and to allow access of aid agencies into the country to help the civilians.

It is estimated that nearly 300,000 civilians have been displaced during the conflict, and that they are now packed in government camps. A week ago, the UN Secretary General, Bank Ki-moon, went to one of these camps and called his visit a “sad and moving learning experience”.

During his tour, the civilians told him about the terrible scarcity they are going through. They didn’t have rice, sugar or oil, they barely had any water and they were virtually locked inside the camp, as a result of the security measures imposed by the authorities.

Besides the poor conditions of the refugees, there have been reports against the Army, which is being accused of having used heavy artillery on civilian areas during the conflict.

Human rights groups are demanding an independent investigation into it. They have also demanded this to the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator, John Holmes.

Estimates recently made by the British newspaper The Times indicate that the civilian death toll during the increase of the government’s crackdown is much higher than the one officially revealed. According to the paper, over 7,000 civilians died, and 13,000 were injured during this year’s confrontations.

But yesterday, the Sri Lankan government dismissed the reports, saying this was part of a strategy to discredit the Military. Based on this claim, the country’s chancellor, Rohita Bogollagama, said they would not allow independent investigations aimed at finding out whether there had been human rights abuses against civilians.