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சிங்களத்திற்கு எதிராக கருத்து கூறியவரின் பெயரை மறைக்கும் அம்னெஸ்டி இன்ரநசனல்

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சிங்களத்திற்கு எதிராக கருத்து கூறியவரின் பெயரை மறைக்கும் அம்னெஸ்டி இன்ரநசனல்

2013 ஆம் ஆண்டு சிங்களநாட்டில் பொதுநலவாய நாடுகளின் அமர்வு நடக்க கூடாது என்ற குரல் பலமாக ஒலித்து வருகின்றது. அதற்கு ஆதரவாக அம்னெஸ்டி இன்ரநசனல் ஒரு கட்டுரையை வெளியிட்டுள்ளது. ஆனால், இதில் சிங்கள நாட்டுக்கு எதிராக கருத்து கூறிய அந்த அமைப்பின் உறுப்பினரின் பெயர் பகிரங்கமாக மறைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

ஒரு புகழ்பூத்த சர்வதேச மனித உரிமைகளின் அமைப்பின் பிரதிநிதியே இப்படி தனது பெயரை வெளியிட மறுப்பது ஒன்றே அங்கு நிலவும் கொடூர ஆட்சிக்கு அத்தாட்சி ஆகின்றது.

Commonwealth leaders must stop Sri Lanka hosting key summit

The Commonwealth risks becoming 'irrelevant' if its leaders allow Sri Lanka to become its next host, Amnesty International said today ahead of the organization's biennial summit.

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) begins in Perth, Australia on Friday, with Sri Lanka due to chair the next summit in 2013 despite an appalling human rights record.

"It's absurd to even consider allowing Sri Lanka to host CHOGM as long as it fails to account for alleged war crimes," said XX of Amnesty International.

"Today Commonwealth leaders are faced with a choice – reform the Commonwealth so that it can effectively address human rights violations by its members, or risk becoming irrelevant."

Sri Lanka, along with India, is reportedly trying to block the proposal to establish a human rights envoy aimed at making the Commonwealth more effective on human rights.

A report by an advisory group of 11 Commonwealth countries makes over 100 recommendations aimed at reforming the organization, including bolstering the organization's ability to tackle violations of its core principles by member states.

The document, which was supposed to be discussed at this weekend's CHOGM, is still officially secret, but leaks suggest it proposes a new human rights monitor.

"Sri Lanka and India's pre-emptive attack on these reforms - before they've even had a chance to be discussed - shows they would have a lot to lose if their human rights records were open to scrutiny," said XX.

In the final weeks of Sri Lanka's war with the Tamil Tigers, some 300,000 people were trapped by the fighting in government declared ‘safe zones’. They were deprived of basic facilities and systematically bombarded by the army’s heavy artillery, leaving more than 10,000 dead.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has publicly pledged to resist any international efforts to prosecute Sri Lankan ‘war heroes’.

http://www.amnesty.o...mmit-2011-10-28

Edited by akootha

  • தொடங்கியவர்

Royal Commonwealth Society என்ற அமைப்பின் Chairman பதவியில் உள்ள ஒருவரால் சிறிலங்காவிற்கு எதிராக கனடாவின் அதிகூடிய விற்பனையாகும் பத்திரிகையில் கட்டுரை வரைந்துள்ளார்.

இந்த அமைப்பில் பல பிரபலங்கள் உள்ளனர்: The Aga Khan, The Commonwealth Secretary-General, HE Kamalesh Sharma Their Excellencies the Commonwealth High Commissioners in London. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs & Commonwealth Affairs, The Leader of the Opposition in the United Kingdom, The Chairman of the Canadian National Council. http://www.thercs.org/society/governance

How to revive the Commonwealth

Commonwealth conferences used to matter. Their decisions helped to end apartheid in South Africa and white rule in Zimbabwe. Their debates, especially during the Thatcher era, made big news.

No longer. Apart from insiders and a few obsessives, who knows or cares what Commonwealth leaders decided two years ago in Trinidad, or what they will discuss this week in Australia? The institution is sleepwalking toward irrelevance. As chairman of the Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS), a charity devoted to the promotion of Commonwealth links and values, I fear for the future. The Commonwealth could become one of the world’s great 21st century networks. It won’t unless the presidents and prime ministers who gather Friday in Perth insist on big changes.

Peter Kellner is chairman of the Royal Commonwealth Society.

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/1077263--how-to-revive-the-commonwealth

Edited by akootha

  • கருத்துக்கள உறவுகள்

Commonwealth values put to test by Sri Lanka

Australia takes over leadership of the Commonwealth group of nations at CHOGM this week. But whatever legacy it hopes to leave from its two years at the helm, there is one that can only tarnish its record.

After Australia's term, a Government accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity and numerous human rights violations is due to take control of this organisation of governments ruling more than 2 billion people around the world. Sri Lanka is to pick up the baton as the next head of the Commonwealth in 2013. And most of the governments that make up the 54-member union appear content to let it happen.

They appear content to ignore the Sri Lankan Government's record in the closing days of its long war with the Tamil Tigers, and the long list of human rights abuses committed by both sides compiled by Amnesty International and other organisations since hostilities ended. And they appear content to remain quiet as calls for an independent international investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by all sides grow louder.

More than 300,000 people were trapped by the fighting in the final weeks of the war. Some were herded into government-declared "safe zones", only to be deprived of adequate food, water and medical care and systematically bombarded by the army's heavy artillery. Others were used by the Tigers as human shields or watched helplessly as their children were forced to join the rebel army. Those caught trying to flee were shot. By the end, more than 10,000 of them were dead.

Emerging accounts of atrocities were so severe that United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki Moon travelled to northern Sri Lanka immediately after the fighting ended to investigate. He commissioned a panel of experts to advise him on the best way to ensure those responsible for possible war crimes and crimes against humanity were brought to justice.

That panel concluded that there was compelling evidence that serious abuses were committed by both sides and that an independent international investigation was warranted. But the Sri Lankan authorities resisted. They condemned the creation of the panel and its conclusions and claimed that they had implemented a "zero civilian casualties" war plan, despite all the available evidence to the contrary.

Sri Lanka has a dismal record on human rights. The vast majority of human rights cases reported are never investigated, let alone heard in court. Arbitrary arrests and detentions, disappearances and police torture are common. Media figures and trade union leaders are routinely targeted. And more than two years after the end of the war, thousands remain held without charge in government "rehabilitation camps".

Commonwealth countries share a commitment to basic values including democracy, freedom, peace and rule of law. Allowing Sri Lanka to head the Commonwealth runs contrary to these values and threatens to derail the organisation's commitment to human rights. It tells the world that members of the Commonwealth are willing to ignore grave abuses and injustice when what is needed is committed, global support for an independent international investigation.

So far, as their leaders gather in Perth for the biennial heads of government meeting, many Commonwealth members appear content to look away, knowing that their next meeting will be in Colombo. India has remained silent. So has South Africa. And Britain and other key players, both large and small, have so far avoided the issue.

But some countries are making their objections known. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said he will boycott the 2013 Commonwealth meeting in Colombo unless Sri Lanka improves its human rights record and will encourage others to do the same. Canadian opposition members went even further, calling for Sri Lanka to be suspended from the Commonwealth until alleged perpetrators are properly held to account.

In Australia, politicians from different political parties are also raising their concerns and increasingly calling for an international investigation. Police are examining a "war crimes" dossier alleging Sri Lankan government forces' involvement in war crimes and crimes against humanity, and activists are calling on the Australian Government to arrest Sri Lankan officials allegedly involved, including the High Commissioner to Australia.

The Commonwealth has a mandate to act on any serious or persistent violations of its values. It is supposed to assess any infringement of these values and recommend measures for collective action. Pakistan and Fiji have twice been suspended in the past. Sri Lanka's position needs to be considered now.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has publicly pledged to stand up to any international power or body that would try to prosecute Sri Lankan "war heroes".

It is up to Commonwealth members to stand up for the tens of thousands of victims of Sri Lanka's civil war and to ensure the Commonwealth's values and commitments to human rights and the rule of law are upheld.

Salil Shetty is the secretary-general of Amnesty International

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/opinion/post/-/blog/theburningissue/post/1894/comment/1

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