Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry and Minister of Justice Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms Wijeyadasa Rajapakse recently took a trip to South Africa from 21 - 25 March. The intended purpose of this trip was to study the concept of a Truth and Reconciliation mechanism.
A statement issued by the Foreign Ministry on 28 March stated:
It is recalled that the Cabinet of Ministers in January this year approved the concept of a Truth and Reconciliation mechanism as proposed by the Cabinet Sub-Commitee on Reconciliation, which is chaired by President Wickremesinghe. The proposed concept states that an independent, domestic mechanism of truth-seeking is identified as a meaningful way for Sri Lanka to advance and secure peace, after the country's arduous journey of ending the conflict of three decades. The Cabinet also authorized the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Justice to operationalize this concept, initiate discussions, and facilitate the drafting of a Truth and Reconciliation law. It is in support of this process, the current visit took place at the invitation of the South African Government.
During the visits Sabry and Wijeyadasa spoke with several South African officials including President Cyril Ramaphosa, Naledi Pandoor the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa, Ronald Lamola the Minister of Justice and Constitutional and Constitutional Development, and former President Thabo Mbeki. Sabry and Wijeyadasa also spoke with former Minister of Constitutional Development Roelf Meyer one of the chief negotiators for the end of apartheid.
During a conversation, President Ramaphosa recalled his friendship with President Wickremesinghe. Ramaphosa expressed an interest in further consolidating bilateral relations with Sri Lanka.
The South African President added that South Africa is committed to sharing their experiences of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission with Sri Lanka in hopes of assisting in the Sri Lankan reconciliation process.
A coalition of South African human rights groups raised concerns over Sabry and Wijeyadasa's visit to South Africa. The coalition emphasized that both Sri Lankan Ministers have close ties to alleged war criminals.
Further, the coalition emphasized that Sri Lanka failed to ensure criminal accountability for gross human rights violations perpetrated during the 1983-2009 civil war. In a collective statement, they urged the South African government to "engage with Sri Lanka to ensure that the government ends the prevalent impunity for gross human rights violations and continuing suppression of dissent and repression of civil society organization."
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