Speaking at the 22nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), the leader of the Sri Lankan delegation to the Human Rights Council and Minister of Plantation Industries, Mahinda Samarasinghe, attempted to highlight Sri Lanka’s ‘achievements’ in working towards reconciliation.
Speaking on issues related to the appropriation of Tamil land, Samarasinghe, informed the UN of Sri Lanka's plans to produce a 'Fourth Land Commission' which will address land return and resettlement disputes. Coincidentally the idea of a commission to address the land appropriation issues was only formulated a week before the start of the UNHRC sessions.
Proclaiming the resettlement of Internally Displaces Peoples as a ' historic moment', Samarasinghe told the UN,
"resettlement is now complete and there are no more IDPs or IDP camps on the island".
Samarasinghe also stated that "the strength of the military in the North has been reduced considerably", on the same day that TNA MP Sumanthiran told the GTF conference in London, that there was 1 member of the security forces for every 5 civilians in the Northern Province.
Download a copy of Samarasinghe's speech here.
The Sri Lankan envoy also went on to cite figures of rehabilitated former 'LTTE combatants', claiming that 11456 people had been 'rehabilitated and reintegrated into society.'
The Minister went on to criticse the Tamil diaspora, adding,
"remnants of the terrorist organisation remain very active in some countries in the Western hemisphere, where their proxies are continuing to lobby host governments, opinion makers in the media and elsewhere, to undermine the peace and reconciliation process that is ongoing. It is regrettable that some part of the international community has fallen prey to these efforts absed on disinformation, outright falsehood and pressure tactics."
He also slammed the March 2012 UN HRC resolution on Sri Lanka stating, was "entirely unecessary, unwarranted and unfair".
Drawing on Government of Sri Lanka Policies that determined the treatment of suspected combatants, Samarasinghe took care to note that,
"It should be noted that GOSL adhered to a policy of treating all these children as victims, not as perpetrators and all possible efforts have been taken to look into their welfare and secure their future."
See here and here for examples of Sri Lankan rehabilitation and reconciliation.
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