Govt. ponders next move as AG bashes IIGEP

By Chandani Kirinde

The Government is still undecided on whether to appoint a new International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP) to observe the work of the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (CoI) looking into 16 serious cases of human rights violations in the country.“We are still contemplating our next move. The IIGEP concept is owned by the Sri Lanka government and we have not decided yet on whether to reconstitute a new group,” Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said.

The former IIGEP wound up its operations recently with its Chairman Justice P.N. Bhagawati, expected in the country next week to address a news conference and formalize its exit from the country. Justice Baghawati and two other members of the IIGEP will address the media briefing which is to follow the release of the IIGEP’s final media statement this week. The IIGEP in a statement released last week said it found a fundamental lack of political will to support a search for the truth and this constrained its work.

Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe

Meanwhile, Mr. Samarasinghe too will address journalists on Tuesday to put across the government’s views on the IIGEP while a statement has already been made by the Attorney General. “Our position has been made clear by the AG and we will explain,” the Minister said.

In a hard-hitting 17-page response to the latest IIGEP statement, Attorney General C.R. de Silva said the premature departure of the IIGEP was "unwarranted and causes unnecessary inconvenience" to the Government, and that the Government would take steps to re-activate the IIGEP.

The AG said the withdrawal of the IIGEP members coincided with the end of financial assistance by the European Union for the IIGEP, and accused "interested parties" of orchestrating the move.

"The several public statements of the IIGEP, including the present 6th statement, have been made with ulterior motives and in particular the view to buttress the argument that there exists a dangerous situation in Sri Lanka, and that national institutions are not independent and efficacious, and hence it would be necessary to establish in Sri Lanka a UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission,” the Attorney General said.

The AG said all IIGEP public statements had been timed to coincide with some international event, and this time too, it had been done when preparations were underway for Sri Lanka's first appearance before the new Universal Periodic Review mechanism by the UN Human Rights Council.