Justice for Easter Sunday victims!
The cries for justice for Easter Sunday victims in Sri Lanka are now on an international trail. The recent demonstration staged in Bologna to coincide with the visit of our Prime Minister to Italy, was closely followed by the visit of our President to the USA, New York city, where we witnessed a more vociferous and well-orchestrated demonstration. Where is Sri Lanka heading in the international arena as a democratically elected government? All the allegations of human rights violations levelled against our country are causing embarrassment and alienation. It is time our leaders take control of this situation and act judiciously to guarantee that the victims of the Easter Sunday carnage would gain solace through justice that they so much deserve.
The International community should not be blamed for the poor view they would have of our country for the blatant crimes committed against humanity. Our records are not very healthy as time and again; attempts have been made to arraign us for alleged human rights violations in the past, though we keep endeavouring to get ourselves exonerated from such accusations. It is now a daunting task for us to prove our sincerity and commitment to address these issues, as new developments keep surfacing frequently such as the Easter Sunday carnage, for which the government will have to act in good faith to ensure justice is meted out expeditiously.
In the domestic scene, we have new drama unfolding with a State Minister visiting prisons and running amok. Prison visits in the night by this State Minister, intimidating the inmates by brazenly holding a gun against their heads, is the most petrifying encounter for prisoners who are supposed to be incarcerated in a highly secured place. All this histrionics were enacted glaringly while the sessions of the 76th United Nations General Assembly in New York were to commence.
This horrendous act perpetrated by none other than a State minster will only vindicate the claims by Human Rights groups, that Sri Lanka is a country where politically motivated criminals can wallow in their inhuman acts with apparent impunity. These dastardly acts will further weaken the trust and integrity of our country, making it undesirable and unsafe for people to live, when scant respect is shown for the fundamental rights enshrined in our constitution.