Judicial mechanism to try war crimes cases by February 2017: SL Foreign Minister
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
The basic architecture of a Judicial Mechanism to try war crimes cases will be finalized by January-February 2017, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, said here on Wednesday.
Briefing the media on his just concluded visit to Geneva to address the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and also to engage with the Tamil Diaspora, Samaraweera said that the Judicial Mechanism will be established after consulting all the stakeholders, especially the victims.
On the controversial issue of accepting or rejecting foreign judges and prosecutors, the Minister said that all options will be examined during the stakeholder consultation process.
Asked to comment on President Maithripala Sirisena’s oft-repeated pledge not to accept foreign judges, the Foreign Minister said that it was the President’s opinion.
“In a democracy everybody, including the President and Prime Minister, is entitled to voice an opinion. But the final decision on the nature of the Judicial Mechanism will be based on wide consultations,” Samaraweera clarified.
On the question of the independence and impartiality of Lankan judges, in the light of doubts if they would be neutral in cases involving members of the armed forces, the Minister said that in several cases in the past involving the military, men in uniform had been punished by the judiciary.
He cited a couple of well known cases including the Krishanthi Kumwaraswamy rape and murder case involving troops stationed in Jaffna.
Cluster Bombs
On the charge (recently repeated by the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights Prince Zaid) that the Lankan armed forces had used cluster bombs in the last phase of the war causing huge civilian casualties, Samaraweera said that the charge must be thoroughly investigated.
He ticked off Retied Justice Maxwell Paranagama, who headed the Commission on enforced disappearances and casualties inflicted in the last phase of the war, for publicly airing his views on the alleged use of cluster bombs.
Paranagama had told the media that he had received no complaints about the use of cluster bombs. And if they had been used, it was not illegal to do so because the international convention against the use of cluster bombs came into effect only in 2010 when the Lankan war had already ended, he added.
Minister Samaraweera said that Paranagama’s statement does not accord with the government’s view, which is that the charge should be properly investigated. Even the charges made in UK’s Channel 4 video on the atrocities committed in the last phase of the war should be investigated, he added.
The Truth Commission to be set by September this year will help the government get at the truth in such matters, the Minister added.
Tamil Diaspora Invited
While in Geneva, he had met members of the Tamil Diaspora, the moderates as well as radicals wedded to Eelam, Samaraweera said.
“The majority of them, including Fr. Emmanuel of the Global Tamil Forum, supported the efforts taken by the government in the last year and a half. Some were still committed to Eelam. I asked all of them to come to Sri Lanka, meet anyone or go anywhere they want to, and then come to a conclusion. Even those who are still banned, could come. We will facilitate their coming,” the Minister said.
Opportune Moment
Appealing to the media to support the government’s efforts to bring about democracy and reconciliation, Samaraweera said that the present circumstance is opportune for achieving this goal.
He pointed out that people in the North (Tamils) and in the South (Sinhalese) have elected moderate parties. The President and the Prime Minister are on the same page. This situation is ideal for bring about reconciliation, and the opportunity this offers should not be frittered away, the Minister said.
The New Indian Express