Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said there was no longer any discussion around “the electric chair” for possible perpetrators of war crimes, due to his government winning the trust of the international community.
Ceylonews quoted the president as saying “Sri Lanka as a Government which is committed to protect democracy, human rights and freedom of the people has won the trust of countries in the world, including the UN”.
“The word, ‘electric chair’ which was spoken widely by the public, politicians and journalists for the last five years has been removed from their dictionaries,” he added.
The remarks were made as he addressed an awards ceremony at the Mayurapada Central College in Kurunegala district.
The president went on to add that public focus was no longer being directed to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, noting that the March session concluded recently.
“We were able to change it within a year in power,” claimed the president. “Today no one will even know that whether the UNHCR session is being held or not. This is one of the major achievements of our government.”
The recent session saw member states and non-governmental organisations reiterating their support for the full implementation of a resolution which calls for an accountability mechanism with international involvement to deal with mass atrocities committed in Sri Lanka.
See our feature: Calls for full implementation of resolution on Sri Lanka at UN Human Rights Council (12 Mar 2016)
However the Sri Lankan president has been staunch and repeatedly asserted that foreign judges will not be allowed to participate in any accountability mechanism.
Ceylonews quoted the president as saying “Sri Lanka as a Government which is committed to protect democracy, human rights and freedom of the people has won the trust of countries in the world, including the UN”.
“The word, ‘electric chair’ which was spoken widely by the public, politicians and journalists for the last five years has been removed from their dictionaries,” he added.
The remarks were made as he addressed an awards ceremony at the Mayurapada Central College in Kurunegala district.
The president went on to add that public focus was no longer being directed to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, noting that the March session concluded recently.
“We were able to change it within a year in power,” claimed the president. “Today no one will even know that whether the UNHCR session is being held or not. This is one of the major achievements of our government.”
The recent session saw member states and non-governmental organisations reiterating their support for the full implementation of a resolution which calls for an accountability mechanism with international involvement to deal with mass atrocities committed in Sri Lanka.
See our feature: Calls for full implementation of resolution on Sri Lanka at UN Human Rights Council (12 Mar 2016)
However the Sri Lankan president has been staunch and repeatedly asserted that foreign judges will not be allowed to participate in any accountability mechanism.