Friendly NGO to watch SL governments interests at UN war crimes probe

LTTE sending a big team

April 26, 2014,

The Parliamentary delegation of Balochistan Provincial Assembly of Pakistan, headed by Speaker Mir Jan Muhammad Khan Jamali called on the  Speaker Parliament of Sri Lanka, Chamal Rajapaksa in Colombo last week. The visiting Speaker also observed the proceedings of the Sri Lankan Parliament and met members of the Sri Lanka Pakistan Parliamentary Friendship Association. The delegation, accompanied by the High Commissioner of Pakistan in Sri Lanka, Maj. Gen. Qasim Qureshi, are pictured here with Speaker Rajapaksa.

 By Zacki Jabbar

 A "friendly" NGO is to watch the interests of the Sri Lankan government at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) mandated international probe into allegations of war crimes  against its security forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) due to commence in June.

Diplomatic sources told The Sunday Island yesterday that despite the Rajapaksa regime having rejected the recent UNHRC resolution which authorized the  Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to launch an international investigation into the conduct of the war by Sri Lankan security forces and the LTTE, between February 21,2002  to May 19,2009, which was the period covered by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) Report, it would send a representative in the form of a " sympathetic and friendly NGO" to look after its interests during the inquiry to be held in Geneva.

Asked, whether the NGO was local or foreign, the sources replied it was a "mixture of both"  and comprises mainly professionals. "The government is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. It is faced with a serious dilemma whether it participates in the inquiry or not.

The OHCHR has received over 2,300 complaints. Some Sri Lankan military personnel have also indicated their willingness to testify. Though the Rajapaksa regime has publicly rejected the UNHRC resolution and was putting on a brave face, it knows the dangers that lay ahead. So, it has stumbled on this idea of sending an NGO which is sympathetic and friendly towards it, to Geneva."   

The OHCHR  it is learnt would by May 15, appoint the panel tasked with conducting the international probe.

A leading Opposition politician said that the government  would be letting down the military, if it  failed to be present and counter the accusations  that were bound to  be levelled by the LTTE, which would be strongly represented at the investigations. "If an official team of lawyers is not sent the OHCHR  probe would be over  in  about two months and its recommendations presented to the International Criminal Court of Justice", he pointed out.

The UNHRC on March 27,2014  adopted by a vote of 23 in favour, 12 against and 12 abstentions, a US sponsored  resolution calling for a comprehensive investigation into alleged serious violations and abuses of human rights and related crimes, by both the Sri Lankan government and LTTE, during the period covered by the LLRC Report and to establish the facts and circumstances of such alleged violations and of the crimes perpetrated, with a view to avoiding impunity and ensuring accountability, with assistance from relevant experts and special procedures mandate holders.