Govt. prepares strong challenge to Rock charge

The Government is preparing a written challenge to contest allegations made by a UN Representative for Children and Armed Conflict on Sri Lanka, Allan Rock, that the security forces were aiding and abetting the LTTE's breakaway Karuna faction to abduct child-soldiers.

The Sunday Times learns that this challenge would include a report from a senior UNICEF official who accompanied Ambassador Rock during his recent visit to the North and East. This official was prevented from joining Ambassador Rock when he visited certain refugee camps and met foreign NGO officials to assess the situation in those areas.

In a report to the UN Security Council Ambassador Rock had repeated his allegation made in Colombo a fortnight ago that his mission in Sri Lanka discovered a disturbing development involving abductions by the Karuna group. He said there was strong and "credible evidence" that certain elements of the security forces were supporting and sometimes participating in the abductions and forced recruitment of children by the Karuna faction.

The Sunday Times learns that Government has referred this report to the Attorney General's Department for study and to respond to the allegations. It is learnt that the UNICEF official concerned, a senior official in child protection work, was kept away from many of the meetings attended by Ambassador Rock.

Sources said the statement gave specific instances of suspicious conduct. The Government is to officially raise issue over these allegations with the United Nations. Meanwhile, our correspondent Neville de Silva adds that Mr Rock handed over on November 27 the report on his 10-day visit to Sri Lanka with copies to President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the country’s UN ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam, sources in New York and Washington said.

The Rock report reached the United Nations as the Security Council sat down to discuss a UN report on child soldiers. Mr. Rock is said to cite "eyewitnesses" and families of abducted children along with other sources of evidence to support his findings. Much of this information had been elicited during and after his visit to Vakarai where security forces artillery fire is said to have hit a camp of internally displaced persons.

The Rock report would strengthen findings by other organisations such as the New York-based Human Rights Watch that say they have compelling evidence of elements of the security forces helping the Karuna group in recruiting children. The Human Rights Watch report on its findings in this and other human rights issues in Sri Lanka is due to be released shortly and would add to mounting criticism of Sri Lanka's human rights record and what is called its "culture of impunity" in recent months.

Although the Rock report does not form a part of the UN report that identified 38 parties from 12 countries that had violated internationally-laid down norms by using child soldiers, it is expected to be discussed in the coming days and would add to the build-up of pressure on Colombo to take strong measures against those deemed to be responsible for such acts.

The first shots in the mounting war on Colombo's human rights record were fired when the UN Human Rights Council met in Geneva last week at which severe strictures were made against Sri Lanka. This was though the Council had put off a discussion on the EU draft resolution which levels criticism at both the LTTE and the Sri Lanka government for their human rights record.

The government had urged Finland which currently holds the European Union presidency to delay its discussion on the resolution to give it time to take definitive steps to mitigate the situation. But the postponement of discussions on the Sri Lanka situation in no way implies that the spotlight on the country has been turned away. It only means that the government has earned a respite and needs to act fast with salutary correctives if it is to tone down international criticism, the sources said.