Sri Lanka's new foreign minister, Mangala Samaraweera, said that the UN inquiry into mass atrocities in Sri Lanka could have been avoided if the issue had been handled "carefully and pragmatically" by the previous government.
"This whole investigation was brought upon the country by the bungling of the previous government. If we had handled it carefully and pragmatically, it could have been avoided,” Mr Samaraweera said.
Asked if the team of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) conducting the inquiry had requested a meeting with the new government, Mr Samaraweera said: "Not so far but we have requested the President’s senior adviser, Mr [Jayantha] Dhanapala, to meet the UN Human Rights Commissioner in Geneva to discuss matters pertaining to this inquiry."
“We hope to take a new approach to it but we will be able to give more concrete details on how we are going to proceed once Mr. Dhanapala comes back from Geneva," he added.
The government would take action against perpetrators of war crimes if proof was found, Mr Samaraweera was quoted by Sri Lanka's Sunday Times.
“To begin with, there are allegations of serious human rights violations against various sections of the army and those in power. Whether those are war crimes or whether such crimes amount to genocide or not will have to be decided by a domestic inquiry.”
“But if, in such an inquiry, it is proven that serious violations have taken place and there had been war crimes committed, then we have our own justice system and our own prisons to deal with those responsible for such crimes.”
Echoing President Sirisena's refusal to hand over any Sri Lanka citizen who fought against the LTTE to face international justice, Mr Samaraweera said: “If they realise there are wrongdoers inside the country, I’m sure they will want them to be punished according to the laws of the land. And we will certainly not hesitate for them to do so.”“We don’t have to send them to The Hague or anywhere else.”
“Our prisons are just as good," he said.
His views contradict those of Sri Lanka's deputy justice minister, who this week assured the former defence secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, that he would be safe from prosecution so long as he stayed in Sri Lanka.
Related article:
Gota safe from war crimes probe in Sri Lanka says dep justice minister (24 Jan 2015)
"This whole investigation was brought upon the country by the bungling of the previous government. If we had handled it carefully and pragmatically, it could have been avoided,” Mr Samaraweera said.
Asked if the team of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) conducting the inquiry had requested a meeting with the new government, Mr Samaraweera said: "Not so far but we have requested the President’s senior adviser, Mr [Jayantha] Dhanapala, to meet the UN Human Rights Commissioner in Geneva to discuss matters pertaining to this inquiry."
“We hope to take a new approach to it but we will be able to give more concrete details on how we are going to proceed once Mr. Dhanapala comes back from Geneva," he added.
The government would take action against perpetrators of war crimes if proof was found, Mr Samaraweera was quoted by Sri Lanka's Sunday Times.
“To begin with, there are allegations of serious human rights violations against various sections of the army and those in power. Whether those are war crimes or whether such crimes amount to genocide or not will have to be decided by a domestic inquiry.”
“But if, in such an inquiry, it is proven that serious violations have taken place and there had been war crimes committed, then we have our own justice system and our own prisons to deal with those responsible for such crimes.”
Echoing President Sirisena's refusal to hand over any Sri Lanka citizen who fought against the LTTE to face international justice, Mr Samaraweera said: “If they realise there are wrongdoers inside the country, I’m sure they will want them to be punished according to the laws of the land. And we will certainly not hesitate for them to do so.”“We don’t have to send them to The Hague or anywhere else.”
“Our prisons are just as good," he said.
His views contradict those of Sri Lanka's deputy justice minister, who this week assured the former defence secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, that he would be safe from prosecution so long as he stayed in Sri Lanka.
Related article:
Gota safe from war crimes probe in Sri Lanka says dep justice minister (24 Jan 2015)