Govt rejects Pillay’s call for probe

The government today rejected a fresh call by UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay for an investigation into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka, saying that Pillay should respect the decision made by the inter-governmental UN Human Rights Council last year.

Human Rights and Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe speaking to media said that Pillay should refrain from expressing the sentiments of ‘selected geographical regions’ and ‘certain economic blocs’ and comply with the decision made by the council in Sri Lankan in relation to the allegations. 

Pillay yesterday had renewed her call for an independent investigation into war crimes allegations in Sri Lanka stating that human rights abuses in the country were damaging prospects of reconciliation after 25 years of the civil war. 

“I am convinced that Sri Lanka should undertake a full reckoning of the grave violations committed by all sides during the war, and that the international community can be helpful in this regard,” she said in a speech presenting her annual report at the UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva.

Serious allegations of war crimes and human rights abuses committed by all sides to the war had surfaced with the culmination of the 30 year war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May of 2009 but were successfully deflected by the government of Sri Lanka. 

The attempt to obtain a UN resolution to set up a special investigation into human rights violations in Sri Lanka was fended off at a special session held in May of last year, in which the Council passed verdict to defeat the passage of resolution, with the support of a majority of countries in the UN Human Rights Council.