In a meeting with US Ambassador, Julie Chung, Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris thanked the US for its continued support whilst claiming that the government was “fully committed to addressing reconciliation-related issues” and would respect “rights of all to the freedom of expression and assembly”.
The meeting followed violent clashes in Colombo between Rajapaksa supporters and anti-government demonstrators which resulted in 10 people killed and over 200 injured. The government of Sri Lanka responded to the violence in the capital by sending in the military and giving police orders to shoot anyone “looting public property or causing harm to others”. A move human rights organisations condemned as providing a “licence to kill”.
Peiris has long opposed demands for an international inquiry into war crimes, insisting instead on a solely domestic-led mechanism. In March, he slammed UN resolution 46/1 claiming that it would sow "disharmony". The resolution ordered called on the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to "collect" as well as "consolidate, analyse and preserve” evidence that could be used in future war crimes trials.
“It is an unproductive drain on Member State resources, at a time of severe financial shortfalls across the entire multilateral system including the High Commissioner's Office,” Peiris asserted.
He has also lashed out at NGOs reporting on Sri Lanka’s dire human rights record such as Human Rights Watch, claiming that their findings were “sensationalized and biased reporting” that “risks igniting and aggravating domestic discord”.
Last December, Peiris also reneged on prior commitments to repeal Sri Lanka’s draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) which had been used disproportionately to imprison Tamil youth and has been linked to systemic torture on the island. The UN High Commissioner has stressed the need for an “immediate moratorium on the use of the Act and that a clear timeline be set for its comprehensive review or repeal."
During his meeting with the US Ambassador, he reportedly briefed her on the Government’s proposed 21st Amendment which would see a greater devolution of power to the parliament and away from the executive Presidency.
The US Ambassador reportedly reassured Peiris that she was aware of these difficulties and that the US would continue to support Sri Lanka. Last month the Ambassador undertook an “essential” tour of Jaffna where she met with Tamil Families of the Disappeared who have been protesting for over five years to uncover the truth behind the disappearances of their loved ones, many of whom were last seen in the custody of Sri Lanka’s military.
Read more here: ‘Everyone deserves to know what happened to their loved ones’ – US Ambassador on 'essential' tour of Jaffna
Read the Sri Lanka foreign ministry's statement here.
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