UN extended deadline to obtain fabricated evidence: GL

Wednesday, 19 November 2014 00:10 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris yesterday chided UN Human Rights Chief Prince Zeid for adopting double standards and extending the deadline for submissions of evidence by the UN investigation an attempt to open the door to fabricated evidence. Addressing a media briefing in Colombo yesterday, Minister Peiris said the UN probe team had been aware of the gathering of falsified evidence in Sri Lanka. “They needed to open a door for this fabricated evidence,” the Minister charged. “These are not the signs of a clean and transparent investigation.”

The UN had told a group of known persons that they were willing to accept evidence from them despite the expired deadline, despite telling the world that the closing date for submissions was 31 October 2014, the Minister accused. The Minister said he had already briefed UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka Subanay Nandy about the situation and would be briefing several diplomats today. “The conspiracy against our country continues. The war has not ended. The method has changed that is all. Today it is not fought with guns and artillery. It is with foreign relations, the power of the foreign media and money that is being used to wage this war against Sri Lanka,” he charged. A Government that defeated brutal terrorists would not find it hard to defeat these conspiracies he added. The Minister said that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein was putting pressure on Sri Lanka to make the country cooperate with the UN probe. “But many countries do not cooperate with such investigations. The UN doesn’t pressurise them,” he added pointing to double standards. Some countries do not only refuse to cooperate with UN probes, they do not even submit themselves to the Universal Periodic Review. “Equality is important within the UN. If Sri Lanka is being criticised, why not others?” he asked.