Bad-mouthing of Govt. by NGOs and INGOs won’t be tolerated

Warning NGOs which persist in slamming the country, the Sri Lankan government said it would not tolerate any further coercion by the international community."The international community should stop naming and shaming Sri Lanka, as this only helps the LTTE to spread its propaganda. In the future, any pressure exerted by the Human Rights Council will be met with an equal and adequate response by the government," Deputy Solicitor General Shavindra Fernando told The Sunday Times.

A two-hour meeting, jointly organized by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) was held on Monday at the sixth session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva under the theme "The Human Rights Situation in Sri Lanka" where the Sri Lankan delegation was allocated from seven to nine minutes to respond to the charges made by the panel.

Refuting allegations that Sri Lanka was snowed under a human rights crisis, the Sri Lankan delegation emphasized that Sri Lanka was committed to the investigation of human rights violations.

"It was unfortunate that only seven minutes were allocated for five speakers, but our delegation was able to remind the panel that the government has maintained a policy of open and constructive relationship with the UN," the Deputy Solicitor-General said.

Peace Secretariat Director (Legal) Shirani Goonatilake said there was no forced resettlement of IDPs as alleged by the UNHCR. While dismissing allegations of starvation in Jaffna and Wanni she reiterated that the government ensured that essential supplies were being sent to these areas.

"During the past 10 years some 440 cases of disappearances were forwarded to the Attorney-General's office contradicting allegations that there was a climate of impunity in Sri Lanka. However, these cases do not include recent disappearances," the Deputy Solicitor General said.

At the ICJ intervention in the General Discussion, it reiterated that violations of human rights and international humanitarian law was committed by all parties to the conflict in Sri Lanka, impacting on the lives of civilians.

"As violations, impunity and impediments to the rule of law continue, the ICJ calls on the Council to urge the Government of Sri Lanka to agree to the establishment of an OHCHR field presence to contribute to preventing further violations," it said. The Human Rights Watch urged the Council to help develop with the Sri Lankan government a plan to place a UN human rights monitoring mission on the ground at the earliest opportunity.

Responding to the charges made at the HRC, the Government made another attempt to clear its name on its human rights record with a presentation on Thursday titled "Misrepresentations of Sri Lanka: A Briefing on Human Rights".

Peace Secretariat Chief Professor Rajiva Wijesinha said issues of Internally Displaced Persons and cases of abductions and disappearances had been misrepresented by INGOs and NGOs stationed in Sri Lanka. However, he admitted that Sri Lanka currently faced humanitarian issues which was a matter of concern, and emphasized that a number of allegations made against the government were unfounded.

Mr. Fernando described the role of the Attorney General and his Department in Sri Lanka, which was not a political office and did not initiate or lead investigations. He said the Attorney General's role should be understood in the local context before commenting on it from the point of view of the international community.

"In response to the ICJ and the HRW, Sri Lanka is prepared to comply with the Universal Periodic Review Mechanism of the Council for a comprehensive review of its Human Rights obligations during the second session of the HRC," Mr. Fernando said.