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Sri Lankan Human Rights Advisers Resign, Criticize Government

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Sri Lankan Human Rights Advisers Resign, Criticize Government

By Jay Shankar

Oct. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Four activists resigned from Sri Lanka's advisory panel on human rights, saying the government is intent on fighting Tamil rebels, not protecting civil rights.

The administration ``is not serious about protecting human rights or eliminating the culture of impunity,'' Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, one of those who resigned from the 10-member panel, said in an interview yesterday. ``There is no window of opportunity left to hold talks with the government on the issue.''

More than 1,100 abductions and ``disappearances'' have been reported in Sri Lanka since a February 2002 truce with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam broke down 20 months ago, Human Rights Watch said in an Aug. 6 report. Killings and abductions have ``dramatically increased,'' the New York-based group said.

The conflict between the Sri Lankan military and LTTE escalated last year as two attempts at peace talks in Geneva failed to make progress. The Tamil rebels are fighting for a separate homeland in the South Asian island nation and still hold areas of the north after losing control of the eastern region in July.

``The human rights situation in Sri Lanka is very serious,'' said Saravanamuttu, who is also the executive director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives, a research institute based in the capital, Colombo. ``In northern Jaffna region there is at least one person killed or abducted every day. Only international pressure can turn the situation around.''

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, who visited Sri Lanka last week, called for the establishment of a U.N. monitoring mission in the country.

`Prevalence of Impunity'

``In the context of the armed conflict and of the emergency measures taken against terrorism, the weakness of the rule of law and prevalence of impunity is alarming,'' Arbour said during the visit, according to a statement on the UN's Web site.

The government rejected Arbour's proposal.

The establishment of a monitoring mission is ``unwarranted and unacceptable,'' Sri Lankan Minister for Disaster Management and Human Rights Mahinda Samarasinghe said in a statement yesterday.

``With regards to the fields of investigation, prosecution and conviction, which the high commissioner mentioned, the government has already initiated action to develop appropriate training and institution building,'' Samarasinghe said.

The U.S. says human rights violations in Sri Lanka remain ``serious,'' adding that while some aspects of civil liberties had improved, the killing of journalists threatens freedom of expression.

Decline in Disappearances

There has been a decline in ``forced disappearances'' in Colombo and the Western Province, Ambassador Robert Blake said in an Oct. 9 speech to the American Chamber of Commerce in Colombo, according to a text provided to Bloomberg News.

``Violations in other parts of Sri Lanka remain as serious as ever,'' Blake said. ``The number of extrajudicial killings in Jaffna has risen even higher in recent months.''

Sri Lanka's Human Rights Commission is appointed by the government and the International Independent Group of Eminent Persons, which constantly monitors the situation in the country, government spokesman Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said in an interview.

``The four members who quit have made a colossal mistake,'' Yapa said. ``We have done quite enough to protect the human rights of each person.''

The Tamil rebels have an estimated 12,000 fighters who control areas in northern Sri Lanka after being driven out of the Eastern Province in July following 14 years of conflict. The LTTE said Sept. 24 any peace settlement must be based on a homeland for Tamils.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jay Shankar in Bangalore at Jshankar1@bloomberg.net

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...&refer=asia

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சிறிலங்கா அரசு சர்வதேசத்தை ஏமாற்ற தங்களைப் பாவித்தார்கள் என்று தாமதமாக உணர்ந்த "மனித உரிமை ஆலோசர்களின்" அறிவாற்றலை நினைக்கச் சிரிப்புத்தான் வந்தது.. சரியான சம்பளமும் படியும் கிடைத்திருந்தால் லூயிஸ் ஆர்பரையும் சிங்கள அரசிற்குச் சார்பாக அறிக்கைவிடப் பண்ணியிருப்பார்கள்!

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