A senior minister in Sri Lanka’s government dismissed allowing an international investigation into mass atrocities.
Sri Lanka’s Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe said there was no possibility of “an international inquiry”.
“That would amount to an unsolicited intervention and a violation of our sovereignty,” the minister told Anadolu Agency, insisting Sri Lanka was “committed to investigate any rights abuses through a domestic process".
Mr Rajapakshe blamed former president Mahinda Rajapaksa for the current OHCHR Investigaion in Sri Lanka.
“It is a fate of his own seeking. President Rajapaksa has written to the U.N. Secretary-General, just four days after the conclusion of the war. It was only after that a U.N. expert committee was appointed to study whether such rights violations had taken place during the final phase of the war. President Rajapaksa has created this situation, not the U.N. and not anyone else, and now it has become a sticky issue,” he said.
But another official in the new government, led by President Maithripala Sirisena, stressed that it would not allow Mr Rajapaksa to face investigators.
Deputy Minister for Justice Sujeewa Senasinghe said that the "international community [should not] be allowed to draw President Rajapaksa’s blood."
"There is a system in place and there are judicial reforms taking place. The first step was the procedurally correct appointment of a new Chief Justice of Sri Lanka," said Senasinghe.
“The new government has better relations with the international community and was voted into office by the people on a platform of promoting governance," he said.
"With us, the interactions are different. We are a government committed to accountability and we will foster strong relations with all the countries.”
A member of the ruling UNP-led New Democratic Front coalition echoed the minister’s sentiments.
“If there is a probe, it should be a domestic process. It cannot be at the behest of a few influential countries out to berate the island,” said Wiijtha Herath, an MP with the JVP.
TNA tells Biswal that only international mechanism will deliver justice (03 February 2015)
British politicians call on Sri Lanka to cooperate with UN and de-militarise North-East (01 February 2015)
Tamils have no trust in local inquiry by Sri Lankan govt says TNA spokesperson (29 January 2015)
Tamils in Mannar urge international community to investigate war crimes in Sri Lanka (26 Jan 2015)
Sri Lanka's new government and the possibility of justice (23 Jan 2015)
UK, Canada urge President Sirisena to cooperate with UN inquiry as he takes office (09 Jan 2015)
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.