Lanka will continue to engage with UNSG [June 16 2011]

Sri Lanka will however continue its consistent constructive engagement, including on issues related to the reconciliation process, with the UN Secretary General and the United Nations system to achieve our objectives, the Sri lankan delegation at the UN Human Rights Council’s, 17th session in Geneva, on June 15 said.

The government of Sri Lanka recognizes that the ‘Process of reconciliation, which remains a priority for it, involves truth, justice and reparation and the LLRC is proceeding in this direction, having heard the experiences of those affected and examining such testimonies to elicit the truth’, Sri Lanka stated at the General Debate on Human Rights Situations Requiring Council Attention, at the

Sri Lanka was exercising the Right of Reply to observations made on Sri Lanka by the US and some countries of Europe.

“Regrettably Sri Lanka is faced with biased, prejudice and unsubstantiated reports that seek to vitiate the atmosphere and do little to help improve the situation.”

 We shall, as done before, continue to provide regular updates to this Council as well as other inter governmental processes, on the measures being taken by the Government of Sri Lanka and the progress made in this regard.

The post-conflict phase has its challenges and the GoSL is extremely seized of the need for the healing of wounds as being an important concomitant for sustained reconciliation.

The full Sri Lankan statement:

“The delegation of SL wishes to exercise this Right of Reply in relation to the comments made on Sri Lanka by the USA and some countries of Europe.

In this context, delivering on its responsibilities in ensuring the welfare of all our citizens, the GoSL ten months ago through the Lessons Learnt & Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), embarked on an independent domestic process founded on the principles of restorative justice, that would enable the identification of the past lessons as well as to address issues of reconciliation.

The process of reconciliation, which remains a priority of Government involves truth, justice and reparation and the LLRC is proceeding in this direction, having heard the experiences of those affected and examining such testimonies to elicit the truth.

Regrettably Sri Lanka is faced with biased, prejudice and unsubstantiated reports that seek to vitiate the atmosphere and do little to help improve the situation. Firstly, we have heard a number of references to the report of the UNSG’s Panel Experts. We reiterate that this report was borne outside an inter-governmental process on an initiative by the UNSG, solely to advise him. The continued references to this report today, appears that these are yet again un-relented attempts to legitimize an illegitimate process.

This too is being resorted to when the Report itself states that fats are unsubstantiated, while Sri Lanka’s domestic process has resorted to the collection of information through open and transparent hearings. Shouldn’t this domestic process be adequately recognized and the required time given, without seeking to force feed recommendations emanating from an unsubstantiated and flawed process?

Sri Lanka will however continue its consistent constructive engagement, including on issues related to the reconciliation process, with the UN Secretary General and the United Nations system to achieve our objectives. We shall, as done before, continue to provide regular updates to this Council as well as other inter governmental processes, on the measures being taken by the GoSL and the progress made in this regard.

As Sri Lanka continues on this path, it is the genuine support and friendship of all which is of paramount importance. However, it is regretted that the delegation of the US thought it fit to prescribe the modality of democratic engagement, which is the sovereign and inalienable right of our people, thereby stifling the pluralistic, multi party democracy that Sri Lanka enjoys since over 8 decades.

The GoSL process of reconciliation has involved the engagement of all political parties and will continue to do so. Restricting this process to any single party, as advocated, would only jeopardies the genuine reconciliation process.

With regard to the reference on videos aired on a British media station without any guarantee of authenticity, the Government of Sri Lanka categorically denies the allegations that it has deliberately targeted its own civilians, as the channel alleges in its documentary. Unsubstantiated allegations do not amount to credible evidence simply because a television channel airs it or its wide circulation on the internet.

Examples of such doctored videos and photos are many as we saw recently in the photographs published on the so called ‘dead body’ of an internationally known terrorist leader. After all, the same television channel in its reportage on 3 June chose to erroneously claim that this august body, convened on that day to view their unauthenticated documentary, which every one in this forum knows is a blatant and malicious false reportage on the proceedings of this Council.

With this history, Madam President, it is also not surprising that the same channel acts as an apologist for the terrorist group by portraying the conflict that took place in Sri Lanka as an ‘unequal war’. The Government of Sri Lanka is concerned about the distress the images aired might have caused to the viewers, particularly to those belonging to different communities in Sri Lanka.

In conclusion, it may be recalled that the GoSL provided a preliminary response to the technical note of the Special Rapporteur on Extra judicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions which was reflected in his Report to UNHRC.

Though the process adopted with regard to the publication of the video and subsequent steps adopted fall far short of the rules of natural justice, Madam President, if the allegations levelled by any party are found to be genuine, the LLRC will take due note of all such cases and remedial measures will be taken by way of legal sanctions. We have informed this Council earlier that the LLRC has already taken cognizance of this matter with a view to ascertaining the veracity of the related footage.” The Policy Research & Information Unit of the Presidential Secretariat of Sri Lanka reported today.