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Lanka denies visas to UN panel on rights abuse
NEW DELHI: The Sri Lankan government on Thursday went back on the commitment it made to the UN on human rights accountability when it declared that it would refuse visas for UN panel members appointed to investigate alleged human rights abuses during the civil war against Tamil rebels.
“We will not allow them to enter Sri Lanka,” reports from Colombo quoting external affairs minister GL Peiris said. “This exercise is not helpful and the timing is questionable,” Mr Peiris said of the investigation. “We have our own commission . Setting a separate UN panel will only complicate matters for our commission.”
The UN took the decision to send a team following outrage over rights abuses during the war. The war, which pitted government forces against the LTTE — who were seeking an independent homeland in the country’s north and east — ended last May. More than 65,000 people died in the strife.
The UN has been concerned about accountability issues related to the military defeat of the rebels, including alleged “war crimes” by troops and rebels — allegations both the government and the rebels deny. Colombo on Thursday said the Commission appointed by the government last month was enough to deal with the problem. But this commission is not mandated to investigate any allegations of human rights violations.
Meanwhile, Colombo slammed the European Union for imposing conditions for Sri Lanka’s continued participation in the Generalised System of Preferences, which gives it preferential tariffs for trade with the EU. The conditions include repealing sections of its emergency rules and the Prevention of Terrorism Act as well as adopting a national human rights action plan.
They also require that Sri Lanka invite UN teams to the country, including the Working Group on Enforced Disappearances, and ensure that journalists can exercise their professional duties without harassment. Sri Lanka Thursday said it rejected the conditions, even if they had to forego the EU’s trade preferences.
(2010-06-25 /The Economic Times)
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