brand logo

Sampanthan responds to report of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on SL

01 Mar 2022

Against the backdrop of the submission of a report on Sri Lanka by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Sri Lankan Government tendering its response to the same, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Leader R. Sampanthan in a statement highlighted several matters. He notes that the panel of experts' report states that in the course of the war, particularly in the final stages, there were credible allegations of violations of International Humanitarian and Human Rights laws and that investigations needed to be conducted to ascertain the truth. It was also highlighted that an internal investigation of the United Nations Human Rights Commissioner had come to a similar conclusion. “The Sri Lankan Governments past or present have not conducted any investigation thus far. The present Government has withdrawn from a resolution cosponsored by the former Government committing Sri Lanka to a hybrid mechanism to address accountability. The lessons learnt and reconciliation commission's overall recommendations have not been implemented by the Sri Lankan Government,” he states. Sampanthan also expressed that all Sri Lankan Governments since Independence have been deeply ingrained in a culture of impunity, failing to honour domestic commitments as a result of being influenced in their decision making whether it be delivering on commitments already made or taking the right decisions on any matter by their desire to be seen as supportive of “Sinhala Buddhist majoritarianism” in order to retain their continued political support to be in power in Governance. “All successive Governments have always shown a desire to continue to be in power by resorting to policies which seemingly support majoritarianism but at the same time cause immense harm to Sri Lanka as a country and the Sri Lankan people as a united nation,” the TNA Leader opined. He goes on to state that if the truth was explained to the Sri Lankan Sinhala Buddhist people, they would understand and accept the position but Sinhala leaders except a very few have lacked the courage to do that.  “This is a primary reason for Sri Lanka being in a desperate position on an unprecedented scale today and experiencing difficulties which are difficult to overcome,” he said. Sampanthan also pointed out the plight of civilians during the conflict. “It is also necessary to highlight the plight of the unarmed Tamil Civilian population who were victims of the war and who were victimised and others who surrendered to the security forces. These victims of grave violations of Human Rights and Humanitarian Laws want the resolution of the Human Rights Council to be implemented,” he said. According to Sampanthan, such victims do not seek revenge but insist that Accountability, Reconciliation, Non Recurrence and continued Human Rights violations be addressed.  “They want the truth to be ascertained. There can be no justice unless the truth is ascertained,” the TNA Leader expressed. He went on to note that as Sri Lanka has committed itself to International United Nations covenants, It is Sri Lanka's duty to fulfil the commitments made in such covenants. “Failure to do so will confirm the prevailing culture of impunity,” he said. In conclusion, Sampanthan opined that Sri Lanka's present attitude towards the United Nations resolution and the actions of the international community seem to suggest that irrespective of what happens within Sri Lanka it is an internal affair and that the sovereignty of the country demands that it be viewed as such without any interference.  “Sri Lanka's culture of impunity is now being sought to be taken to the international level,” he concluded.


More News..