U.S. urges Sri Lanka to address Human Rights issues

The United States has urged the Sri Lankan Government to fulfill all of the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation report and also address those issues that the report did not cover.

“We’re still studying the full report, I do have to say that we have concerns that the report, nonetheless, does not fully address all the allegations of serious human rights violations that occurred in the final phase of the conflict. So this leaves questions about accountability,” U.S. department of State spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters in response to a question in Washington DC on Monday.

To another question, she said that the Sri Lankan government’s preliminary action plan did not provide the kind of detailed roadmap that the U.S. had hoped to see for fulfilling all of the Commission’s recommendations.

Rajapaksa view

The US State Department was unfair in the observations made about the government's response to the report of Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) said President Mahinda Rajapaksa addressing select Sri Lankan editors at Temple Trees on Tuesday morning.

President Rajapaksa said that on the matter of accountability a clear statement on how the government intends acting on LLRC recommendations was made by the Leader of the House when the report was tabled in Parliament.

Mr. Rajapaksa also said that there is an unfair selectivity in dealing with Sri Lanka on this matter by referring only to last phase of a conflict that went on for nearly 30 years.

Some countries were having commissions sitting for several years on armed conflicts caused by them, he said. Mr. Rajapaksa also observed that while raising issues of accountability with Sri Lanka, the US had recently brought provisions in law to detain persons for any length of time outside the normal law.

Explaining Sri Lankan position further, Minister of External Affairs Prof. G. L. Peiris reiterated that the Leader of the House Hon. Nimal Siripala de Silva had clearly stated the manner in which the government would act on these matters.

"There was no question of the government trying to evade matters of accountability that had been mentioned in LLRC recommendations, as this matter had been clearly explained by the Leader of the House when tabling the report in Parliament," Prof. Peiris said.

On the alleged absence of a comprehensive plan for implementation of the report, Prof. Peiris said this criticism was not justified as the focus of this comment was confined only to the closing stages of the conflict.

There was a lack of a uniform approach on these matters with regard to Sri Lanka, Prof. Peiris said. Standards that are being required from Sri Lanka are not demanded from places where other conflicts have taken place.

It is necessary that the values and standards in relation to such conflicts that are being demanded from Sri Lanka should apply to all, the Minister said.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2732187.ece

SRI LANKA: The report of the Commission of Inquiry on Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation -- the issuing of the report is a non-event

There was no reason to expect much from the report of the LLRC as this commission had no mandate to investigate and to file a report on the basis of investigations. It was a mere commission of gathering some views but even in that the people who were most affected, that is those who are from the north and the east, did not have genuine freedom to give a narrative of what they knew about what had happened to them and those known to them.

The commission having had no mandate to investigate was, from the beginning, subjected to manipulation by those in power who used the commission to state the government's point of view about the incidents relating to the period between 21st February, 2002 and 19th May, 2009. The commission in its final report has reproduced quite faithfully the government's version as told by 'those witnesses' who came before the commission to narrate the official version.

The very absence of the affected population made the possibility of any independent report quite impossible. Therefore there is no reason for disappointment in this final report as the whole exercise relating to this commission was meant to be a farce, particularly to counter the criticism from UN agencies and other outside agencies for a credible inquiry. The appointment of the commission gave credence to the argument that, as the Sri Lankan government itself is having a commission to inquire into whatever allegations of human rights abuses, violations of humanitarian law and war crimes that might have taken place, no international inquiry was needed into these allegations.

Thus, the whole exercise of the LLRC was a delaying tactic to take the pressure off the government in the face of calls from the friends and relatives of the victims, the Diaspora and the international community by providing an excuse that 'since the government is having a commission we should wait for its results'. The LLRC achieved this aim and did undermine the call for genuine inquiries into the allegations of gross human rights abuses.

Having conducted no inquiry by themselves all that the LLRC could recommend at the end of their report is to request the government to conduct some inquiries on some aspects of allegations they have heard at the commission. This is a ridiculous situation because if the government wanted to make some investigations into some matters such as forced disappearances as recommended by the LLRC the government has had ample time to do so. The government had more information about the actual details of what has happened than what the LLRC has, in fact, revealed in their report.

There are other oft-repeated recommendations which in the past have not produced any positive reaction from the government. The purpose of gathering together some nice sounding recommendations to give itself some credibility does not in any way mean that any of these recommendations would be considered or implemented by the government.

There were other commissions such as commissions into forced disappearances which have made far more serious sets of recommendations but none of them were implemented by any of the previous governments. The new report of the LLRC would only add to the government's archives of farcical commissions and the worthless reports of such commissions.

One recommendation of the LLRC can be used as an illustration to expose the farcical nature of this recommendation making process by the commissions. The LLRC recommends the need for an independent police commission. The LLRC knows that there was one such independent commission under the 17th Amendment to the Constitution. The LLRC also knows that the 17th Amendment was virtually nullified by the 18th Amendment. Without undoing the 18th Amendment and, in fact, much of the 1978 Constitution itself there is no possibility at all of an appointment of an independent police commission. These are matters of law and the Constitution that the LLRC commissioners could not have been ignorant of.

The LLRC was not meant to be and, in fact, has not been able to contribute any kind of solution to the chaotic conditions of the country which is today a dysfunctional legal system. The people may take some solace in the fact that one more farce has come to an end. But that will not be for long. There will be greater lies and manipulated exercises to deny the people of the right to have genuine inquiries into the tragedy that they nation has become.

http://www.humanrights.asia/news/ahrc-news/AHRC-STM-207-2011

How will the international community respond? - Dr Kumar David

The LLRC match is being played out for the sake of international actors.

If GoSL wants to settle the national question it knows what it needs to do and could have done so a long time ago; no need for commissions. End the military occupation of Tamil areas and close down the High Security Zones, implement full devolution of power, and release Tamil youth held in illegal detention.

For starters, these few steps will do more than a hundred commissions of inquiry. This game is not being played for reconciliation with the Tamils; it is being played to get the human rights and international agencies baying for blood off the back of the government.

Will the human rights lobbies, New Delhi, and the Western powers take the bait and concur with the LLRC that the regime and its armed forces stand acquitted of war crimes and human rights violations? My guess is as follows;

- non-governmental and human rights lobbies will not take the bait;

- New Delhi will be delighted to go along with the report;

- as for Western governments, let’s watch for a bit.

The nigger in the woodpile is the Sonia-Singh administration in India, which I will not trust with a five anna coin when it comes to human rights in Lanka. What are India’s interests in this game? Having backed, diplomatically supported and provided military intelligence to an operation hell bent on a course that led to tens of thousands of casualties, the only interest that the Sonia-Singh administration now has is to avoid having its face further blackened before the world.

The LLRC Report absolves the Sri Lankan military of war crimes and human rights abuses. Bravo for India, so it is not the accomplice of a marauder. One can only hope that Indian and South Indian public opinion will not let Delhi get away with such misdemeanour. It is necessary to build a campaign in India around this objective.

http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers49%5Cpaper4822.html

LLRC report presented to UK parliamentarians

The report of the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) was presented to members of the British Parliament yesterday (Tuesday), the Sri Lankan High Commission in Britain said.

High Commissioner Dr. Chris Nonis briefed British Parliamentarians from the House of Commons and the House of Lords, academics and Think Tanks, at an interactive dialogue on the LLRC Report held last afternoon in Portcullis House in the British Parliament.

http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2011/12/21/llrc-report-to-uk-parliamentarians/

LLRC report falls short of addressing the evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity -Statement from Lee Scott MP Chair All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils

The long awaited report from Sri Lanka’s Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) was finally made public on Friday 16 December.

The Government of Sri Lanka has long deflected calls for an international independent investigation into allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity stating that the LLRC would fulfil its obligations under international humanitarian laws (IHL) to address accountability. .

Although the report appears to offer a more realistic view of the post-war situation and provide some positive recommendations to address the current human rights concerns in Sri Lanka, the LLRC’s conclusions on the prosecution of the conflict contradict many of the findings of the United Nations Panel of Experts report on Sri Lanka.

However, as anticipated by many reputed human rights groups LLRC report falls short of addressing the evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity, committed during the final phases of the conflict, by the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and fails to advance accountability for the victims.

Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific director, has said that “A preliminary review of the report suggests that it acknowledges the very serious human rights problems in Sri Lanka. But where it appears to really falter is in ignoring the serious evidence of war crimes, crimes against humanity and other violations of the laws of war by government forces, even though the report highlights the serious and systematic violations committed by the LTTE”.

“It is clear that justice for conflict-related abuses is not going to happen within Sri Lanka’s domestic institutions. The government has been playing for time by appointing the LLRC. That time has now run out,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

Governments, including the UK, have said they will support the establishment of an international investigation unless the Sri Lankan government demonstrates progress on accountability. Although the LLRC makes welcomed recommendations on the current human rights issues in Sri Lanka, it is deeply flawed in addressing the allegations relating to the final stages of the conflict and providing credible steps towards advancing accountability to those perpetrators.

It is clear that the LLRC attempts to overlook accountability for war crimes and breaches of IHL by recognising the underlying causes of the conflict, highlighting the ground reality and focussing on advancing peace in Sri Lanka through its recommendations. It is important now that the international community holds Sri Lanka to their obligations under international law to allow for an international independent investigation to ensure that the victims of war crimes and crimes against humanity get justice and the process of reconciliation can pave the way for lasting peace on the island.

The All Party Parliamentary Group for Tamils now expects nothing but a robust engagement with the Sri Lankan State from here on to address issues of accountability.

http://britishtamilconservatives.co.uk/2011/12/llrc-report-falls-short-of-addressing-the-evidence-of-war-crimes-and-crimes-against-humanity-statement-from-lee-scott-mp-chair-all-party-parliamentary-group-for-tamils/

ICG : Statement on the Report of Sri Lanka's Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission

The International Crisis Group welcomes the public release of the report of Sri Lanka’s “Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission” (LLRC), presented to the Sri Lankan parliament on 16 December 2011. The report acknowledges important events and grievances that have contributed to decades of political violence and civil war in Sri Lanka and makes sensible recommendations on governance, land issues and the need for a political solution.

But it fails in a crucial task – providing the thorough and independent investigation of alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law that the UN and other partners of Sri Lanka have been asking for.

It is now incumbent on the international community, through the UN Human Rights Council, to establish an independent international investigation in 2012. Without such an investigation, accountability for the crimes committed at the end of the civil war is highly unlikely; without accountability, and a full understanding of the nature of the violations which took place on all sides, the seeds of future conflict will grow.

http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/publication-type/media-releases/2011/asia/statement-on-the-report-of-sri-lanka-s-lessons-learnt-and-reconciliation-commission.aspx

Tamils for Obama Asks Secretary Blake to Reject LLRC Report and Call for International Investigation of Sri Lanka’s Civil War

Tamils for Obama wrote a letter to Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake in which they recognized his role in forcing the GOSL to create an investigating body—the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission—and asked him to denounce the commission’s final report as biased and inadequate, and to call for an international tribunal to investigate the war crimes committed during the final stages of the Sri Lankan civil war.

To see the entire letter go to: http://www.tamilsforobama.com/letters/LLRC_report_blake.html

Link to Gibson Bateman on LLRC: http://www.jofr.org/2011/12/17/sri-lankas-truth-commission-a-brief-assessment-of-the-llrc-report/#.TwTIVTXOwWZ

Link to TNA statement: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20111219/as-sri-lanka-civil-war/

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/1/prweb9077032.htm