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“The Secretary-General supports the views of High Commissioner Zeid, and he agrees with High Commissioner Zeid that the Government of Sri Lanka should cooperate. And we will continue to urge that they do so,” Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General said.
Last week the Government hit back at the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, accusing him of using intemperate language to attack and vilify a sovereign member of the United Nations.
In a letter to Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, hours after he issued a statement accusing the Government of attempting to sabotage the UN led investigations on Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva Ravinatha Aryasinha, said that the actions of Al Hussein would regrettably constrain constructive engagement which the Government of Sri Lanka has consistently sought to pursue.
“It is a matter of deep concern to note that you, as a high official of the UN system, have resorted to the use of intemperate language to attack and vilify a sovereign member of the United Nations. Further, you have chosen to cast aspersions and denigrate a democratically-elected Government. In fact, some countries have, on extremely cogent grounds, rejected mandates of the Council previously in much stronger ways, and have not been censured in the manner as in this instance. This undoubtedly confirms the double standards being applied. This type of action on your part would regrettably constrain constructive engagement which the Government of Sri Lanka has consistently sought to pursue,” Aryasinha said.
Al Hussein had criticised the continuing attacks by the Sri Lankan Government on the integrity of the UN Human Rights Office’s ongoing investigation into alleged grave human rights violations and abuses in Sri Lanka, and condemned the intimidation of human rights defenders and individuals who may wish to cooperate with the investigation.
(Colombo Gazette)
Ranil writes to EU on ruling over LTTEOpposition United National Party (UNP) Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe has written to the EU High Representative Federica Mogherini, urging them to file an appeal against the EU Court order on the LTTE.
Wickremesinghe said that he had sent the letter after he found that the Government was not taking any firm action on the EU Court order.
EU judges had last month struck down anti-terrorism sanctions imposed on the LTTE by the European Union, citing a technicality, but said that the assets of the Sri Lankan group should remain frozen for the time being.
The bloc’s Lower Court said a decision by EU leaders in 2006 to place the LTTE on a list of terrorist organisations had been based on “imputations derived from the press and the internet” rather than on direct investigation of the group’s actions, as required by law.
It said in a statement that the EU had also failed, when following Indian sanctions on the Tigers, to ensure that India gave sufficient judicial protection to those it accused.
However, the Court rejected the LTTE’s contention that it was exempt from EU anti-terrorism legislation because it was engaged in an “armed conflict” with the Sri Lankan Government and bound by the laws of war. The Court, which stressed it was taking no view on whether the LTTE was a terrorist organisation, said EU laws on terrorism also applied to armed conflicts.
Saying that sanctions might be applied in future against the Tigers, who were defeated militarily in 2009, the Court said assets that were frozen should remain so “temporarily”. (Colombo Gazette)
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