Sri Lankan president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, today rejected the US sponsored draft resolution on Sri Lanka tabled at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), alleging that the resolution was of no significance due to its ‘biased’ nature. Speaking on national television, Rajapaksa outlined that he was not concerned about the imminent resolution, as it was based on findings of the UN Human Rights Chief, Navi Pillay’s report, who according to Rajapaksa, was always expected to criticise Sri lanka. The President’s office further quoted him as labelling the criticism of Sri Lanka, as an ‘...
Bags with human remains have been found in Nanthikadal, near Mullivaikkaal, reported the Uthayan . The remains were found by a labourer from the area, who informed Northern Provincial Council member Mr. Ravikaran. Ravikaran confirmed to the Uthayan newspaper that he saw several sacks of human remains, of which the skulls had bullet wounds in the forehead area, and said he suspected the bodies were those of members of the LTTE, executed during the end phase of the armed conflict.
The former Army General, Sarath Fonseka, flatly rejected any allegations that his troops had committed war crimes during the final stages of the armed conflict in 2009, but added that " if there are war crimes allegations and somebody goes to the electric chair, it will be me because I commanded, I planned, I monitored, I directed, I supervised the battlefield activities and I gave orders ." In an interview to the Daily Mirror.lk General Fonseka said, "If there are allegations of war crimes against the army, I have said that I am ready to answer that anytime to anybody because I don’t agree that the army had committed any war crimes. I deny that . If somebody has a specific complain and any credible evidence, then we can always conduct an inquiry like we have done in the past. But you can’t baselessly blame the army."
The draft resolution tabled at the UNHRC on Monday is "disappointing", said the Global Tamil Forum (GTF). In an interview to BBC Tamil, the spokesperson of the GTF Suren Surendiran said, " It's certainly not satisfactory. It's disappointing . Importantly, when the British Prime Minister went to Sri Lanka last year for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meet, he very clearly stated, if the Sri Lankan government does not conduct a credible investigation, then the coming March - ie. this month, March 2014 - he, the UK, and other countries would call for an independent, international investigation. Till now, that clear statement has certainly not been realised . Therefore, this is definitely a disheartening act. It has disappointed us ."
The leader of the Paattali Makkal Katchi, a party in the Tamil Nadu ruling coalition, urged the Indian government to work towards strengthening the draft resolution on Sri Lanka, tabled at the UNHRC this week. The party leader, S Ramathas, stressed the need for India to strengthen the current draft resolution, and ensure that an international mechanism into war crimes and crimes against humanity and genocide took place.
Several NGOs based in the UK have urged Prime Minister David Cameron to support the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry at the UN Human Rights Council. In a letter to the Prime Minister, Freedom from Torture, Redress, Minority Rights Group International, Sri Lanka Campaign and UNA-UK, said the Prime Minister should stand by his call for an international investigation, adding that little had changed since his visit in November. The groups said issues such as torture, disappearances and sexual violence, if left unaddressed, may lead to renewed conflict and said they hoped the UK would “champion robust action” at the council.
The chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils (APPGT), MP Lee Scott, left for the United Nations Human Rights Council, today, to aid efforts in ensuring that an international investigation into Sri Lankan atrocities is established by the UNHRC. Speaking to press before he left, he said, "I am going to Geneva to attend the current session of UNHRC where I have several meetings. I will continue, on behalf of the APPGT and the Tamil Community, to call for an international independent investigation. This will be supported by fellow APPGT members when they come to the UNHRC during this...
Mihin Lanka, a state-owned airline, is projected to make a loss of over Rs2bn (£9.2mn) for 2013-14. The Minister of Civil Aviation Priyankara Jayaratna was responding to a question raised in parliament and said that the budget-airline is in debt to the tune of over Rs283mn (£1.3bn).
The Sri Lankan government has failed to hold a credible investigation into allegations of human rights abuses, stated the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, as she presented her annual report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Speaking earlier today, Pillay told the council, “Nearly five years on from the end of the conflict in Sri Lanka, I regret that the Government has failed to satisfy the Council’s call for a credible and independent investigation into allegations of serious human rights violations. ” She went on to add, “I therefore recommend that the time has come...
The Archbishop Desmond Tutu urged the United Nations to establish a Commission of Inquiry in a joint letter to the UN, written together with other international human rights activists and notable Tamil voices from the North-East. The letter, published in the South African journal, Mail & Guardian , two days after a draft resolution tabled at the UN fell short of calling for a CoI, expressed concern, stating, "We, concerned individuals and organisations from around the world, urge the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to use their March 2014 session to pass a resolution that will include a commitment to an independent international investigation in the form of a commission of inquiry in Sri Lanka . Only this will help put the country on the path to justice and reconciliation."