Special court for accountability with TNA and victims - Foreign Affairs Minister

Many of the victims in Sri Lanka want justice and the government is working out the contours of not only the TRC but also setting up of the special courts.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera said the Government hopes to set up special courts to address accountability issues in discussion with the major Tamil Party, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and victims of the conflict.

Speaking at the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs (NUPI) in Oslo on Tuesday (June 21), the Minister said the Sri Lankan government has been working with the government of South Africa about their experiences in setting up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) but will not be guided by their model of confession and forgiveness.

He said many of the victims in Sri Lanka want justice and the government is working out the contours of not only the TRC but also setting up of the special courts.

While there is a certain degree of controversy on how the courts should be setup and the level of international participation, the government will make a decision after the consultations with other parties like the TNA and groups which represent the victims.

“Whatever we decide upon, will and must have the approval, not only ourselves but of the victims those who suffered. This is not an exercise to please ourselves. So the final contours of the architecture of the courts we are hoping to set up will be in discussion. Especially with parties like the TNA and other groups which represent the victims,” he said.

Minister Samaraweera said the only way to come to terms with the past to move forward as a united nation is to bring justice to those who need it in Sri Lanka.

He said four possible mechanisms are under consideration- a mechanism to seek the truth, a mechanism for accountability and justice, reparation and a mechanism to ensure non-recurrence. Listing the government’s progress so far, the Minister said the first of these mechanisms is completed with the government finalizing the establishment of the Permanent Office for Missing Persons (OMP).

“It is now time for us to seize the current opportunity that is before us to implement the provisions of the Geneva resolution, not because of International pressure, but because as a nation, we must implement these provisions for the sake of restoring the dignity of our nation, our people and our military, in order for Sri Lanka to regain her due position as a strong democracy among the community of nations,” Minister Samaraweera said.

The Minister said he will be making a statement at the UN Human Rights Council’s session in Geneva next week on the government’s measures and to assure the international community that the Sri Lankan government is united in its determination to come to terms with the past despite what is being reported. “Again certain newspapers and social media like to say that the President has one view, the Prime Minister has another, the Foreign Minister yet another but it is not so. We are working unitedly,” he said.

- Colombopage