The Sri Lankan minister of finance reiterated his government’s demand for a domestic inquiry into violations of international humanitarian law committed during the final phase of the armed conflict and called for international pressure to cease.
Mahinda Samarasinghe, who held the position of special envoy of the President of Sri Lanka on Human Rights during the previous government, said Sri Lanka should be allowed to investigate any violations without international pressure.
Speaking during at the launch of his book in Colombo, Mr Samarasinghe said Sri Lanka was still unaware of the contents of an ongoing investigation by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. “However a copy of the report will be sent to Sri Lanka before they take it up at the UNHRC session,” he said, adding “I hope to represent Sri Lanka in September as I have ten years’ experience in the area.”
His remarks come after Channel 4 News revealed an internal UN document, which outlines a purely domestic process for accountability and redress for the gross violations of human rights committed during the armed conflict – a move deemed a “betrayal” by the Northern Provincial Council Chief Minister CV Wigneswaran.
See our earlier posts:
TNPF condemns UN plan as ‘mockery of justice’ (29 Jul 2015)
Internal UN document details plan for “domestic probe” in Sri Lanka (28 Jul 2015)
UN does not see Tamils as partners in accountability process – Tamil Civil Society Forum (29 July 2015)
North-East Tamil organisations urge UN Human Rights chief to act (03 July 2015)
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
