Sri Lanka invitation to UN panel opposed
News Source: BBC
A proposed meeting between the United Nations and a Sri Lankan presidential commission has evoked opposition from international human rights watchdogs and Sinhala nationalists within the ruling coalition.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) called upon the United Nations to be cautious in sending its investigators to meet the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka’s ruling coalition partners Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) and National Freedom Front (NFF) along with opposition Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) announced its anger towards the invitation extended by the government.
HRW
Brad Adams, executive director of HRW’s Asia Pacific Division told BBC Sandeshaya that the panel appointed by the UN secretary general should not visit Sri Lanka unless it is allowed to investigate alleged war crimes.
“We want to know what happened. We want justice for victims,” He said.
“The LLRC mandate should be changed and new people should be appointed to engage in a serious investigation. And there is absolutely no sign of that happening.” Brad Adams told BBC.
Farhan Haq, spokesman for the UN secretary general said the advisory panel would meet the LLRC. But he wasn’t sure when and where. Sri Lankan Government announced that it would allow the UN team to visit the island, reversing its earlier refusal to grant them visas.
‘No change in mandate’
Many organisations including the International Crisis Group (ICG), Human Rights Watch (HRW), and Amnesty International (AI) which calls for an independent and impartial enquiry to establish what happened during the final stages of war in Sri Lanka, have all refused invitations to take part in the proceedings of LLRC.
They argue that the commission is flawed because its members were appointed by the government, has no real mandate to investigate war crimes in the last stages of the conflict, lacks any mechanism to protect witness and falls short of minimum international standards of a commission of inquiry.
However, the government announced that the LLRC mandate will not be amended.
“In the event of the government facilitating UN Secretary General’s Panel to visit Sri Lanka, the LLRC will hear such representations on the basis of its warrant and the usual procedures followed for such hearings,” the Sri Lankan government said in a statement on Wednesday.
JHU, NFF and JVP
The JHU and the NFF say they fear that the UN advisory panel visiting Sri Lanka will result in the Sri Lankan government being implicated in war crimes.
“The UN panel will label the president and the defence secretary as war criminals,” NFF spokesman Piyasiri Wijenayaka told journalists on Wednesday.
“The invitation to the advisory panel will enable the security council and the UN Human Rights Commission to push the International community to take an adverse decision against Sri Lanka,” warned JHU spokesman Udaya Gammanpila speaking to BBC Sandeshaya on Tuesday.
Opposition JVP parliamentarian Vijitha Herath told journalists on Tuesday that the government has demonstrated it’s ‘duplicity’ by rejecting the UN panel earlier and inviting it now.
UNP
Meanwhile, the major opposition United National Party (UNP) has said that the imprisoned former army chief Sarath Fonseka should be allowed to meet the UN panel.
Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa appointed the eight member LLRC to “report on the lessons to be learnt from the events in the period, Feb 2002 to May 2009”.
UNSG Ban Ki Moon appointed a three member panel to advise him on “accountability issues relating to alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law” during the final stages of the Sri Lankan government’s war against Tamil Tigers.
News Source: BBC
Latest Headlines in Sri Lanka
- Sri Lanka and United States discuss Economic Support and Reforms April 19, 2024
- Israeli missile strikes Iran amid escalating Middle East tensions April 19, 2024
- President says he will build a Sri Lanka that the youth aspire to April 19, 2024
- NPP presents 7-point pledge on Easter Sunday Attack to Cardinal Ranjith April 18, 2024
- Dialog Axiata to acquire Bharti Airtel’s telecom operations in Sri Lanka April 18, 2024
Hey Brad!! Do you have anything to comment on the mass murders done in Iraq by the Americans in the name of of liberating Kuwait. What made the Americans to kill hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians in Iraq just to liberate Kuwait.
Did you write anything when the LTTE was involved in killing hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians lived in the border villages. No!! Because it was a requirement of the West. Did you ever write anything regarding the mass murders happening for many years in the West Bank or in Afghanistan.
When something goes against the West all are terrorists. All othe mass murderes are – freedom fighters, ethnic fighters, sepeartists, Islamic, Bin Laden, Jihad or any other words in the dictionery justify to your actions. If you are an indepandent please give a clear explanation how you justtify the terrorism and the mass murders done by the west in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Korea, Vietnam or anywhere else.
It is not difficult to understand what you are doing. Yes, I know that you got to do some dirty jobs for the money you are paid. But begging on the road may be more decnt living than what you do now and definitely a more decent job than washing others dirty linen. I just cant see anything difference you and a bottle of Harpic. Both does the same job – just cleaning others shit
JHU and NFF should combine and mobilise their resources to make it loud and clear to the government of MR through public demonstrations that UNSG panel is totally unwelcome in this country. USA, Britain and Israel continue to carry out such blatant war crimes and crimes against humanity but UNSG is strangely silent and has done nothing about it yet. He should be kicked out of the UN through a vote by the UN General Assembly, as being biased in favour of the imperial West and corrupt. There should be a ‘no faith’ motion and vote in the UN General Assembly against UNSG, who allows the real culprits USA and Britain get-away with blatant war crimes and crimes against humanity daily, while knocking down a small nation like SL, who carried out the world’s largest hostage rescue mission successfully of its Tamil citizens, from the terrorist VP and the LTTE who held them hostage as a human shield against the SL War of Liberation. Imperial West and diaspora LTTE are smarting at the total debacle of the LTTE and the rebuff given to the like of David Milliband and the other clown Koutchner by Hon President when they tried to rescue LTTEW leader and the hardcore cadres. The sheer audacity of the imperial West in trying to rescue the world’s worst terrorist organisation from utter defeat defies belief!
The acts of war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed by LTTE through 30 years of its existence. Where were AI, HRW and other humbugs who are sponsored by imperial West as their puppets and tools to be used against smaller nations who dare to defy imperial West and their vested interests to dominate the world, and to strip small nations of their assets using corrupt politicians in these countries? Why were these corrupt organisations so silent during the horrendous crimes committed by the LTTE? They in fact bent over double as apologists to the LTTE. They were in the pay of the imperial West and the diaspora LTTE. In my view, these corrupt organisations should be investigated by the Freeworld. I hope Wikileaks can shed some light on the corrupt sordid links AI, HRW etc have with the imperial West.
Nicholas Dias:
You must have been in your slumber. Do you know that it was the reports of NGOs like AI and HRW that Sri Lanka used to cite the LTTE for it to be banned in many countries, including the EU. Even the USA and UK banned the LTTE based on the recalcitrant attitude and activities of the LTTE.
Your seem to be bent on the argument that the commission of war crimes by other nations justify the SL regime’s alleged commission of such crimes. Surely you cannot stoop as low as that. In the case of the countries you have mentioned, particularly USA and Israel, those who faced the wrath of these nations are not the citizens of these countries but in the case of SL, those maimed were the citizens of SL.
Is it because the innocent victims are Tamils that there appears to be a complacent attitude to pretend as if nothing happened. Never mind about foreign “agents”, NGOs, etc. This regime even refused to allow local media and even elected representatives to visit the affected areas during and immediately after the massacre came to an end. Surely you cannot be that naive that unless the regime has something to hide, why should it act so desperately? It may seem to you and many like you that the defeat per se was the end game. That MR has got rid of the caveat on the limited terms to stand of office speaks volumes how he had taken you and many others as fools.
The P state is in turmoil. The first pictures of the smoke billowing from the Incinerator were published in the web today.
What incinerator and what ‘web’ is this paradesi rabid kotiya taking about? DC needs a head transplant. Perhaps VP’s head, since he claims VP is not dead. I hope DC helps to locate where the incinerator gifted by Vikings is buried along with the tons of arms and bombs gifted by the Vikings.
The JHU and NFF, though nationalistic, are constitued by capable and right-thinking leaders. The two parties have correctly analysed the likely consequences of the UNSG panel’s visit based on available evidence.
The writer Jansee has a brilliant comment above.
All these point to a tightening noose and the Sinhala Nation’s leaders lack a strategic outlook on the immediate and far future.
For all parties to the conflict, it is best that the UNSG Panel be kept away from the Sinhala State and it’s commission.
‘Jansee’, what a peculiar name? I suppose it is a pseudonym as you are too much of a coward like the man who calls himself DC to sign under your real names.
AI, HRW, ICG are all different tools of imperial West to dominate the smaller nations of the Freeworld. From where did they get their funds? They were funded by USA, Britain, Norway and diaspora LTTE, to name a few. All these groups were well known for their bias in favour of the world’s deadliest terrorist organisation, LTTE. They were allowed easy access to the inner sanctums of the LTTE at the height of its power to observe, record, film and publish reports in their magazines and in the world media in favour of LTTE. They were portrayed as ‘freedom fighters’ fighting ‘oppression’ in pursuit of their ‘legitimate aspirations’ to establish a ‘homeland’ for a so-called ‘Tamil nation’. These organisations of the imperial West turned a blind eye completely to the gross and barbarous acts of most heinous crimes against humanity committed by the LTTE for 30 long years. At no time had they ever utterred a single word against the LTTE, because the LTTE along with the imperial West, were their paymasters. These organisations were Goebels today distorting facts and disseminating false propaganda the world over. They were the mouthpieces of the LTTE. Even to this day they are repeating parrot-wise the false propaganda and distortions by the diaspora LTTE, that war crimes were committed by the SL army and the SL government leaders. They think that if such false propaganda is repeated oft enough the world will come to accept it eventually as true.
They have totally ignored the harrowing scenes on TV of the innocent starving SL Tamil citizens, held hostage as a human shield by the psychopath VP and the LTTE, as they fled his iron grip, defying LTTE gunfire and bomb blast of LTTE suicide squads. They fled to the security of the compassionate helping hands of the SL army across the Nanthikadal lagoon. Some naturally died from the raking machinegun fire of the LTTE along with the SL soldiers who helped them escape, but the diaspora LTTE and the imperial West and their tools the AI, HRW and ICG try to distort the facts, as a massacre by the SL army. The real massacres such as that of 600 STF personnel of SL defence forces who surrendered on the orders of the traitor R Premadasa, or the massacre of 300 muslims in a Baticaloa mosque as they prayed, were never investigated and denounced by these biased organisations of the imperial West and the LTTE.
No war crimes were ever committed by the SL defence forces. UNSG appointed unconstitutionally a 3-member panel to investigate and report to him such alleged war crimes by SL army on the insistence of imperial West, the diaspora LTTE and these biased organisations AI, HRW and ICG. The members of this panel are all known to be biased against SL and were really appointees of the diaspora LTTE and the imperial West. That is the reason why they were rejected by the Hon President of SL. The UN Gen Assembly has already rejected the call of the imperial West for such an investigation by the UN. So it is unconstitutional for UNSG to ignore the decision of the UN Gen Assembly and still go ahead with an investigation, on the insistence of imperial West and the diaspoira LTTE. The UNSG is a corrupt man, and the Freeworld has no faith in him. He shouild be kicked out from his post.
The tide against the LTTE turned with the bombing of the twin towers in New York by the Al Qaeda. LTTE became proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the imperial West in the wake of this outrage, but it was only on paper. Otherwise it was business as usual for them as the imperial West gave them green light and a nod to go ahead with their terrorist activities so long as it was not directed against the imperial West. The imperial West has vested interest in SE Asia, hence LTTE is a usefull tool in their arsenal. The imperial West used the LTTE to support and breed other terrorist organisations within India to break-up India into independent states so as to prevent India from becoming a superpower and a challenge to US supremacy in the world.
Thank youMr.Nims,I am also totally agree with you,I am sure these thugs got paid from the so call Ltte extreamist.Therefore all the srilanken people has to get together and not allowed those thugs to come to srilanka and an interfear our democraty,Srilanken governmant fought against one of the ruthless terrorist group call Tamil tigers,Who has Killed so many innocent civilians and one of world lider Mr. Rajiv gahndi.many of westwern countries help them to buy wepens and supply them with heavy wepons to kill our civilians.therfore they have no right to interfear our srilanken problems.
‘Jansee’, you should be really called ‘no-can-see’.So let me elucidate for your benefit.
AI, HRW, ICG are all really funded by the imperial West and the diaspora LTTE. These organisations are mere tools of the imperial West. There is ample evidence for it.
These organisations indulge in writing biased reports aginst GOSL, on contract from diaspora LTTE and the imperial West. They dish out disinformation and the dirt fed to them by the diaspora LTTE. The British Channel 4 documentary was produced by a diaspora LTTE German organisation and shown a few times on Channel 4, paid for by the LTTE, despite this documentary having been proven scientifically to be a total hoax to bring discredit to the GOSL.
The GOSL has more than abundant evidence to prove that LTTE is a terrorist organisation and did not rely on reports from the likes of AI. Terrorists incidents occurred in SL over three decades. The whole world saw for themselves through the media the terrible atrocities committed by the LTTE. But the Vikings, the Yankees and the Tommies protected the LTTE and even funded further atrocities. Political leaders in SL at the time were in the pockets of diaspora LTTE and the imperial West. So they did very little either to destroy the LTTE definitively.
Even after the LTTE were finally proscribed by the imperial West as a terrorist organisation it was only a paper exercise. The imperial West continue to give the LTTE a nod and a wink to this day, to continue business as usual with a name change, a metamorphosis. The diaspora LTTE now call themselves World Tamil Forum and have created a ‘trans national government of Tamil eelam in exile’. This has the nod of the imperial West. LTTE was finally proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the wake of the twin towers destruction by the Al Qaeda, when terrorism hit home in USA. The USA then sat up and declared war on ‘international terrorism’, and proscribed 40 terrorist groups as a result, including the LTTE, but in effect they waged war only on Al Qaeda. This is their two-faced approach, double standards, ‘white-man-speaking-in-forked-tongue’ approach.
USA assumes themselves as the real superpower and try to dominate the whole world. Britain, EU, Canada, Autralia and Japan have become Yankee lap-dogs, agreeing to any and all atrocities the Yankees commit to maintain their world supremacy. During Russian invasion of Afghanistan, USA funded and supported with military aid and training the Taleban and Al Qaeda of Osama bin Laden. Once the Russians were ousted from Afghanistan Al Qaeda and the Taleban turned the very guns the yankees supplied on USA, who Islamists call ‘the great satan’. They hit USA interests in the Middle East and in Africa. Finally they hit USA itself. The rest is history when USA aroused like a wasp nest when hit, attacked Al Aqaeda and the Taleban in Afghanistan and then in Iraq, as Saddam Hussein, once a Yankee ally aginst Iran, also joined forces against USA and the imperial West. Today after 9 years, USA and the imperial West are no nearer winning their wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is because they are the invaders, the foreign devils.
As in the protracted Vietnam war, USA and its allies will never win the war against Taleban and the Al Qaeda. This is the bitter truth they are hiding from their citizens back home. Their economies continue on their downward plunge while their peoples back home suffer through deprivations. Their armies are also slowly decimated. Despite all its military superiority the stark reality is USA and its allies will never win their wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ultimately they will have to eat humble pie and withdraw, with their economies in tatters and their peoples in reduced circumstances. Their soldiers would have sacrificed their lives in vain to support Western regimes that invade other countries with gun-ho mentality. Britain will be the ‘poor man of Europe’. Other EU allies are already in serious economic trouble. China will be a hyperpower, while Russia will rise again as a great superpower under Putin’s proficient direction.
USA is courting India for friendship in order to maintain supremacy against rising power of China in SE Asia. USA does not want India to form alliances with China and Russia. Who is the real power in India today behind Manmohan Singh? This is Sonia Gandhi, the Italian air hostess, who married Rajiv Gandhi, to become Congress Party leader today. Unbelievable! She is a Roman Catholic and a puppet of the Vatican and USA. She shrewdly controls Manmohan Singh to carry out policies favourable to imperial West and the Vatican.
Who really committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in SL except LTTE terrorists? LTTE did so by recruiting child soldiers to its rag-tag army by conscripotion and by carrying out massacres of Muslims and Sinhalese. It was flagrant genocide but the imperial West was silent. The AI, HRW and ICG were all silent. The Vikings aided and abetted the LTTE in their war crimes and crimes against humanity. Ban Ki-Moon is strangley silent about these. He is a corrupt man and should be kicked out from his post as UNSG because the Freeworld has no faith in him. He is in the pay of diaspora LTTE and the imeprial West. Despite the UN Gen Assembly voting against a UN investigation into alleged war cimes by GOSL leaders and the SL Defence Forces in the War of Liberation of the SL Tamil citizens held hostage by the vile LTTE terrorists as a human shiled (a war crime), UNSG despotically decided to appoint a three-man committee to investigate and report to him the alleged war crimes. The Hon President of SL should consider this as a crime by the UNSG against the sovereign nation of SL and hold his ground against this biased panel of UNSG who has no mandate from the UN Gen Assembly. This panel should never be allowed access to SL and to LTTE minions and enemies within SL, the traitors. Where is your deshabhimanaya Hon Mahinda Rajapaksa?