UNHRC resolution: Mangala says co-sponsorship saved Lanka from international war crimes probe
Insists text was negotiated with then President, then PM and UK, US envoys
Former Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera on Friday defended his role in piloting the United National Human Rights Council resolution on Sri Lanka as a co-sponsor saying the country was on the verge of an international investigation by 2014 and the Yahapalana Government managed to avoid it by negotiations he conducted on the telephone from New York with President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, foreign ministry officials and the Colombo-based envoys of Britain and the United States.
In a lengthy statement, Mr Samaraweera warns incumbent Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa of facing a similar fate that befell the SLFP founder and one-time Premier S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike by supporting extremist forces.
The Government changed in January 2015 at a time when Sri Lanka was in dire straits and the Government of the day, under the leadership of President Sirisena decided, based on the 100-Day Programme, to bring all these issues back home from the international arena, by taking local ownership and taking charge of all processes through resolution 30/1, Mr Samaraweera insisted. He argued this was a reassertion of Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and regaining SrI Lanka’s lost respect and dignity among the international community once again. “It was also an opportunity for Sri Lanka to prove that Sri Lankan justice is fully capable of ensuring credible accountability. Resolution 30/1 gives Sri Lanka and NOT the international community or an international court that responsibility,” he remarked.
The consensus resolution was intended to achieve three main aims, the former Foreign Minister stressed. First and most importantly, it provided the means for Sri Lanka to take charge of its own reconciliation agenda, and provided a broad-framework and vision for the country to strengthen reconciliation, end impunity, fortify democracy and strengthen, uphold and entrench institutionally the human rights of all citizens irrespective of their ethnicity, race, religion, faith or gender. Secondly, it allowed Sri Lanka the means to restore the dignity of the institutions of the army, airforce, navy and police, by investigating locally, through locally designed processes, all allegations of violations of the law including by the LTTE and any others. Thirdly, it enabled Sri Lanka to regain its due place and dignity on the international stage, normalising its relations with the international community to chart its path to economic progress and prosperity as a hub in the Indian Ocean.
“The final text of the resolution was largely negotiated over the telephone, with the President and I at the same hotel in New York, and the Prime Minister in Colombo accompanied by the Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the time and the Ambassador of the US and High Commissioner of the UK. Once consensus was reached, the Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the time who was in Colombo had coordinated with Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva and conveyed the decision of the Government of Sri Lanka to the Human Rights Council.”
He noted that once the resolution was adopted by the Council, it was presented to Parliament, where there was broad consensus in the House. President Sirisena also chaired two sessions of an All Party Conference at which the views of all political parties were consulted and sought for implementation of the provisions of the resolution, including the design of mechanisms. However, he reminded that parties representing what was then called the Joint Opposition in Parliament did not submit any views at the time.
“Backtracking on the resolution sends a very clear signal to the people of our country and our partners in the world. The message is that Sri Lanka cares not for reconciliation, accountability or even democracy. It heralds the dismantling of the institutions that form the bedrock of our nation’s progress, the reversal of trust among communities and countries that was earned through much toil, and the embrace of our basest instincts of hate, insecurity, fear and envy. It is important to be mindful of the fact that although Sri Lanka withdraws from co-sponsorship of resolution 30/1 and subsequent resolutions that extended 30/1 (i.e. 34/1 and 40/1), the mandate of the resolutions passed by the Human Rights Council do not go away. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights will remain bound by the provisions of resolution 40/1 and will have to continue to report to the Council even though Sri Lanka may not cooperate, and just as the Council did in pre-2015, it can continue to act without Sri Lanka’s cooperation,” Mr. Samaraweera noted.
He added: “Over the last five years, the country was slowly healing. Relations between the communities were beginning to normalise. A Sri Lanka where everyone felt truly at home and at peace, as equal brothers and sisters, was beginning to emerge. The space had opened up to discuss and resolve problems without fear. We were beginning to work together to fulfill our dream of a peaceful and prosperous Sri Lanka. Our relations with the world were restored. We maintained close ties and amity with all the major powers of the world – India, China, the US and EU – while strengthening our ties with all states including the states in East Asia.
"If the government backtracks on this resolution, it must be prepared to take responsibility for the resumption of resentment, frustration and fear among the vulnerable in our country. From the many insurgencies we have experienced over the last few decades, we know where such feelings lead. It will have to take responsibility for the erosion of democracy. And, for our isolation in the world. We know the costs.
"Individual sanctions have already begun with a travel ban being placed by the USA on the Commander of the Army. It would be no surprise if such targeted sanctions increase and in a few years our economy would be in tatters once again. And most of all, we know that feeling of unease and anxiety, the feeling of simmering conflict and fear, rather than tranquility, amity and progress.
"Ultimately, the peace and prosperity of our country depend on ourselves and the choices we make. They depend not on our stars or on other countries. We must decide the future we want: to move forward together to peace and prosperity or backward alone into the darkness, fear and violence of the past."
On a personal note, the former Foreign Minister warned Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. "Mahinda Rajapaksa was once a dear friend. Mahinda, you know that in your heart of hearts, you are not one of them. And demons, once unleashed, are not exorcised. I pray that your alliance with dark forces does not lead to you and Sri Lanka befalling the same fate as S.W.R.D Bandaranaike did after he made his pact with extremists."
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