UNHRC has hidden agenda targetting Sri Lanka - Minister Champika Ranawaka

By Manjula Fernando

Technology, Research and Atomic Energy Minister and Jathika Hela Urumaya parliamentarian, Patali Champika Ranawaka in an interview with the Sunday Observer explains why his party was against granting visas to the UN Human Rights High commissioners' team who are mandated to investigate alleged human rights charges against the security forces.

Q: There are two groups, with one saying Sri Lanka should allow the newly appointed UN Human Rights team to visit Sri Lanka to investigate the allegations of Human Rights violations related to the war on terrorism and the other opposing this view. The JHU belongs to the second category. How do you justify your stance?

A: Some argue that we have to collaborate with the UNHRC so that we can be absolved from the charges against our country and the security forces. If this is true, we should invite them and place before them all the evidence for an independent inquiry.

As a member of the UN system, we know that Sri Lanka has to engage with the UN agencies. But this particular agency, the UNHRC, especially the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), from the very beginning, has been biased. It is engaged in framing false charges against us. Their intention is to seek credibility to already set a verdict on our security forces.

For instance the UNHRC asked Saddam Hussein to comply with the UN system to find if Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, he collaborated and the US experts found nothing in Iraq. Finally a report was issued and the US, UK and other countries bombed Iraq and Saddam Hussein was killed. One million people died as a result and the country is now divided into three.

A similar thing happened in Libya. We saw in various parts of the world, these western forces in operation - especially anglo american intrusions and invasions and the resulted devastation in Yougoslovia, Arab region and Latin America.

The so- called UN team's intention is clear. They are not coming to investigate war crimes. They are not coming to reconcile the communities. Their aim is to have a foothold here and to control the maritime routes that are going along this Indian ocean. That is their ultimate goal. And also to have a containment plan against China and India.

Whether we cooperate with their investigation or not is insignificant to them. They keep shifting the goal post. Earlier the investigation was to cover only the alleged war crimes during the final stages of the conflict, then the probe was expanded to cover the entire period of the conflict in Sri Lanka, after former Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranaike's case the independence of the judiciary was coupled, later came religious disharmony, media freedom and gay rights.

The UN tried to impose sanctions on Kenya on gay rights when most of the states in the USA is yet to recognize gay rights. Does not this question the equality and impartiality of the UN?

Why should we help these forces whose ultimate goal is to destabilise the country? Besides the domestic mechanisms are there to investigation any kind of genuine charges against the security forces or the government.

Q: The OHCHR has indicated that if the UN team is not allowed to visit Sri Lanka they will still carry on with the task. That could pose a bigger threat since the evidence they gather then could be from unverified sources or the active diaspora groups backed by the LTTE?

That had been done before. When UN Secretary General appointed the Darusman Panel to give him advice on Sri Lankan matter. They produced a report. It was based on information from Tamil expatriate groups with questionable background.

The charges against armed forces included, forced disappearances, killing of prisoners and bombing of humanitarian institutions, etc.

In Yugoslavia the UN produced satellite images to prove at least 9000 people were killed in Sebranica. But when they investigated later, only 300 human remains were found. Notwithstanding the Nato forces invaded Yugoslavia.

We know that the Darusman report will be the basis for the up coming report in March. They will come up with various evidence to prove that thousands of people were killed by the Sri Lankan armed forces. Sri Lanka's census and statistics report provides a very clear picture as to how many have been killed and disappeared during the conflict.

It says 9000 people have been killed during the final states of the humanitarian operation and half of them were LTTE cadres. The others were killed since they were used by the LTTE as a human shield. The Boko Haram militant islamists in Nigeria used the same technique. They used innocent girls as a human shield to protect their jihadists group. The US wants the Boko Haram destroyed and then why don't they understand the situation we had to face in 2009.

If there are any allegations against our armed forces, those should be investigated but it should be through a domestic mechanism and not by external mechanisms that operate with hidden agendas. We have proved our capability from the investigation of Premawathie Manamperi to the Krishanthi Kumaraswami case and Suriyakanda massacres. Allegations against the security forces were investigated and culprits were brought to book.

Q: The UN Human rights Chief is wary of our ability to implement a domestic apparatus. In such a backdrop how can we proceed ?

A: They cannot dictate terms to us. Ours is a sovereign country run by a democratically elected government. The UN should accept the system of governance in Sri Lanka. There is Western thinking that their systems are far superior to ours. They want to impose their systems on us. That is not going to work, the systems are culture- based. The UN is in the habit of harassing small nations like us.

Q: The former Governor General of New Zealand Silvia Cartwright has been appointed as a member of the UN team on Sri Lanka. She is one of the judges in the Khmer Rouge War Crimes Tribunal?

A: The Kampuchean matter is a complex issue. At first the French occupied this land. They tortured and killed millions, no commission was appointed to investigate the killings in Kampuchea, Laos or Vietnam during that period. Then the Japanese fascists invaded the land. Later the US invaders occupied the land. The torture, killings and disappearances continued on an unbelievable scale.

Appointment of these panels is a tactic by the UN to justify their already planned action. When they wanted to invade Iraq, they appointed a panel to investigate Saddam Hussein's government to justify their already reached biased conclusions.

Whatever the person or content, if there are genuine allegations and concrete evidence we must investigate but through a domestic system. Most of the LLRC recommendations have been implemented. We have a well- established judiciary and a legal system. A disappearances commission is continuing its sittings, there are military courts and civil courts.

The UN Human Rights arm is trying to punish the armed forces ignoring the devastation the neo natzi movement, the LTTE which caused misery to the country, economy and the people for 30 years. This is definitely going to disturb the successful reconciliation process. It is trying to reawaken hatred and divisions among the people. This cannot be tolerated.

Q: There is a school of thought that Sri Lanka cannot win the UNHRC battle without the help of India - in 2009 we had a massive support base in Geneva and it was led by India. Those who cradle this opinion argue, the UN probe can only be neutralized with a counter resolution and once again we need our big brother's help. Your comments?

A: We should understand the Indian priorities. In this case Indian leaders face two problems. One, if they allow foreign forces to investigate Sri Lanka on humanitarian grounds, they could face a similar probe on Kashmir, etc. In India there are Maoist struggles, extremist Islamic uprisings, and various other sectarian violence. Out of 27 states in India there are military conflicts in at least half of them. Before Sri Lanka there was a UN 'charge sheet' on the Kashmir massacres.

Secondly, India wanted Sri Lanka to implement a power sharing solution that reflected the Indian model, the 13th Amendment, influencing the merger of Northern and the Eastern provinces. We have done a grave mistake by having a friendly resolution in 2009 urging Sri Lankan government to implement the 13-A in toto.

To get Indian support we are betraying our sovereignty. That should not be the case.

We are not a 'tributary state' of India. India is very much part of our problem. Without India LTTE was not able to wage a conventional war of this magnitude.

However, Sri Lanka should not make India its enemy. Taking precautions to preserve our identity the Government must find a strategy and a consistent; unbiased and non aligned foreign policy to work with India.

We have commanded respect and excellent relations with both India and China in the past. In 1962 when India and China clashed, the then PM Sirimavo Bandaranaike called a peace conference in Colombo. We must continue this peace-making tradition.

Q: Moving on to the domestic front, as the JHU leader do you blame the Bodu Bala Sena for instigating communal clashes in Beruwala and Aluthgama areas?

A: In our opinion this is actually the result of a deep- rooted issue. We must find out the core issues. The problem is that within the Muslim community there is a movement to segregate them from the other communities.

They are clamouring for their own food, costumes, clothes, their own education purported to be based on Islamic teachings. That social segregation can be allowed to the extent of preserving their unique identity. But today it has crossed the 'red line' and affecting other the daily lives of other communities. The other communities are suspicious of this social segregation program.

Of the 26 military conflicts in the world, 25 are due to Islamic Jihadist movements. This is happening in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Prime Minister Seikh Hasina is a great leader who fought these extremist forces.

The alarming fact is that the West is trying to use the domestic Jihadists forces to destabilise the country. The Beruwala incident could have been averted if remedial measures were taken.

When the Buddhist rally was held in Aluthgama with permission, an illegal gathering of Muslim youth took place in Dharga Town. There was provocation on those who took part in the Buddhist rally and a monk was severely assaulted. We feel the matter should be confined to the areas affected. There is an islandwide ban on Buddhist programs but a countrywide hartal was allowed. Such things could worsen the situation.