by International Truth & Justice Project Sri Lanka, South Africa, April 23, 2018
GATHERING EVIDENCE
THE SPECIAL TASK FORCE
This report on the Special Task Force (STF) is based primarily on the testimony of Sinhalese insiders who worked for the unit in the past and former Tamil paramilitaries.
“This work in the white vanning unit had been like being a horror film. This lifestyle had become part of my normal life. We were surrounded by violence, corruption, fear, anger and hatred. Life was very cheap.”
In the East of Sri Lanka, witnesses describe some STF officers ordering summary executions of prisoners, conducting false flag operations and condoning sexual violations.
The report makes the case that the STF should not be deployed as UN peacekeepers without stringent vetting and screening. The ITJP has prepared a confidential list of more than fifty STF officers whom it believes should be barred from serving in UN peacekeeping missions.