INDIA, March 29 -- Following his decision to pardon and release former army officer Sunil Ratnayake, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has reopened new wounds stemming from his country's devastating civil war. Though over a decade has passed since the conclusion of Sri Lanka's war with the now-defunct Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the country's minority Tamil community continues to endure lapses in justice for civilians killed by perpetrators that include members of the Sri Lankan military and police.
For his part, Ratnayake's case is particularly harrowing. On December 20th, 2000, Ratnayake slit the throats of eight Tamil civilians, half of whom were children, the youngest just five years old. Upon further investigation, ...