'Int’l community must exert real pressure on SL'
Monday, January 21, 2013
Issues relating to accountability, reconciliation and the 'Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission' discussed by GTF Spokesperson, Suren Surendiran in Ceylon Today.
http://www.ceylontoday.lk/51-22475-news-detail-intl-community-must-exert-real-pressure-on-sl.html
The outcome of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) fell short of addressing the main issues, particularly the alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, the Global Tamil Forum (GTF) said yesterday, but admitted that the Commission report made a good number of practical recommendations. This, it said, had also been highlighted by many internal and international human rights and humanitarian organizations and international organizations such as the UN and EU. Speaking to Ceylon Today, GTF spokesperson, Suren Surendiran said, “The LLRC did not have the right mandate to investigate such alleged crimes and breaches of international law. The LLRC did not have sufficient mandate to protect witnesses, which discouraged many war victims from coming forward. The involvement of certain individuals in the committee, their credibility and objectiveness was questioned from the very beginning by many, internally and externally. Finally, the LLRC also vindicated and excused the Sri Lankan Military without a proper investigation beyond their mandate and even when many types of evidence, including video evidence, were presented to them.”
Surendiran said it was such a discredited report’s recommendations that the international community wanted implemented as part of the UN resolution that was passed in Geneva last March at the UNHRC. “Part two of the resolution called for Sri Lanka to address the accountability issue in a credible, transparent and independent manner. The third part called on the Government of Sri Lanka to address the political grievances of the Tamils in a responsible and acceptable way to arrive at a political solution,” he said, pointing out that only a fraction of the first part has been considered in the action plan presented by the Government of Sri Lanka, and that there is almost zero progress on part two and three. “None have been effectively implemented. This demonstrates serious contempt and disregard for international norms and resolutions by the government,” he said, urging the international community to stop the soft diplomacy tactics and start acting effectively by putting real pressure on the regime, by introducing various measures available to the international community such as implementing a travel ban on the leaders, economic pressure by delaying IMF loans and calling for an international mechanism to investigate the alleged war crimes, and so forth.