REPORT LIKELY TO AGGRAVATE CURRENT POLITICAL CRISIS IN SL - CHAMPIKA

The approaches of both the Govt. of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the UNHRC are equally pre-possessed, emotionally-charged and undramatic

The recommendations on Sri Lanka by the High Commissioner for the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in her report are likely to aggravate the current political crisis in Sri Lanka and will make life more difficult for average citizens of Sri Lanka, the political movement called 43rd Brigade led by MP Patali Champika Ranawaka said yesterday.

“High Commissioner, advancing a new resolution, has completely neglected this reality. On the other hand, Sri Lanka is now dragged into an international diplomatic crisis due to the Government’s arrogant and immature stance based on the hackneyed rhetoric of an ‘international conspiracy against it’ and other self-contradictory statements, whereby Sri Lanka tries to shun its responsibility to uphold the minimum standards of protecting and promoting human rights as a member state of UNHCR,” the statement issued by 43rd Brigade said.

“High Commissioner’s recommendation of an independent inquiry against the State of Sri Lanka should be conducted regarding violations of Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Laws and Convicted Military personnel should be punished and be expelled from service. This over-emphasis on one component of the transitional justice process is counter-productive to achieving the important goal of sustainable reconciliation that her report advocates. In today’s context that no investigation can be conducted on the atrocities and human rights violations committed by LTTE, recommending legal action against only one side involved in the war, i.e. Sri Lankan military forces, polarises ethno-religious relations and diminishes chances of lasting peace. Such contractions exemplify the unrealistic and partiality of the recommendations of the High Commissioner. Since the end of the armed conflict in 2009, no tense situation has grown out of proportion to be a major challenge to ethnoreligious harmony. Since 2009, over 12,000 EX-LTTE combatants have been rehabilitated and released. They have already received an implicit general pardon. If we want to achieve sustainable peace, the country must advance on the steps that have been proven to be successful,” the statement added. The approaches of both parties, i.e. the Government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the UNHRC are equally prepossessed, emotionally-charged and undramatic. No dignified society tolerates punishing servicemen who risked their lives to protect national security. On the one hand, despite myriad international examples of nations standing strongly for defending the Armies, the group of the UN High Commissioner advancing a new resolution, has completely neglected this reality. The 43 Brigade is of the view that, in order to achieve sustainable reconciliation, Sri Lanka should adopt an approach based on mutual forgiveness. Such an approach can be adopted with regard to LTTE members and military personnel held in prison for reasons relating to the war. Unfortunately, neither the present Government nor the High Commissioner attempt to attain sustainable peace based on this approach. While we reject the recommendations of the High Commissioner for UN Human Rights Council, we emphasise that the Government has not got a free pass to violate human rights by resorting to conspiracy theories.