SL shouldn’t be monitored by the West
Is this really a country that has to be monitored by the West almost every day. My view as President of the All Party British Sri Lanka Parliamentary Group is No!. I shall put all these points and more in a debate
British Baron Lord Naseby has said Sri Lanka is not a country that has to be monitored by the Western countries almost everyday, the ‘Politics Home’ reported on Tuesday.
He said now is the time for closure and to let Sri Lanka stand on its own two feet.
“Is this really a country that has to be monitored by the West almost every day. My view as President of the All Party British Sri Lanka Parliamentary Group is No!. I shall put all these points and more in a debate. I shall finish by reminding Her Majesty’s Government of the old adage ‘keep your friendships in repair’. We may well need Sri Lanka’s friendship again soon over Brexit,” he said.
He said about six months ago, he was conscious that the UN Motions on Sri Lanka would be reviewed in March 2019 by the UNHCR in Geneva.
Specifically two resolutions were adopted by the UNHCR in September 2015 and again in March 2017. The resolutions were entitled ‘Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka’.
The motivation for the alleged need for the resolutions at all was the very heavy lobbying by that section of the diaspora in the USA, UK and Canada who in their heart of hearts still wanted an independent state ‘Eelam’. They had lost the war when the LTTE Tamil Tigers were finally defeated on the battlefield on May 18, 2009. .
Interestingly the USA has recently withdrawn from being a sponsor. My guess is the US Government assess the Sri Lankan Government has done a huge amount to meet the UN requirements, so sees little purpose in prolonging what is in effect almost a policing surveillance of the actions of another sovereign state now 71 years old.
The UK government has been helpful in the reconciliation process through its Conflict, Security and Stabilisation Fund.
The UK have assisted in setting up the Office of Missing Persons. I reflect that hundreds if not thousands of Tamil Cadres or sympathizers vanished abroad claiming asylum or were just winkled out through Tamil Nadu in India or wherever.
The Sri Lanka government themselves has passed an Act to establish an Office for Reparations and a proposal to establish a Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
In reality, Sri Lanka has taken positive steps on the four pillars of transitional justice-truth, reconciliation, accountability and guarantees of nonrecurrence which must be taken into account by the Human Rights Council. Add to this, the continuing cooperation Sri Lanka has maintained with UN Human Rights mechanisms and the international community, the question has to be asked what is the point of the continuation of this resolution,” he said.