Govt. sticks to its guns on Panel report

21 June 2011 02:23 am - 28 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

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The government reiterated its stance that it will not reply to the “controversial Darusman report.” Instead, it said, it was preparing a set of reports on the post-war progress in Sri Lanka, which would be made available to the international community.

External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris told Daily Mirror that since the government did not recognise the panel that was appointed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to advise him on matters relating to the conflict in Sri Lanka, it would be “inappropriate to reply to the report.”

This stance had been made clear to the UN by the fact that Sri Lanka did not respond to the report when it was first handed over to the government. “Prior to making the report public the secretary general asked the government to respond but we did not, making it clear that there would be no reply to specific allegations made in the report,” he said.

However, the government is preparing a number of comprehensive reports on the present situation in the country. “We have one report on food and medical supplies to the North, facilitated by the Presidential Task Force under the auspices of Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa. There is another report by the Ministry of Defence and Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa which is a 120 page commentary on the situation in the North,” he said.

These reports are to be made available to the UN, international non-governmental organisations and foreign governments. “It is in the interest of Sri Lanka that this information is disseminated amongst the international community and we will do all that we can to ensure that this information reaches them,” he said

When asked why Sri Lanka did not oppose the reelection of the secretary general, the minister said there was no need for “personal animosity or hatred” when taking a decision on the matter. “We have expressed our support for him because this is a matter that must be dealt with rationally and not emotionally,” he said.

Meanhwile, Minister G.L. Peiris said that the United Nations had not taken any action against Sri Lanka or accepted the many allegations levelled against the government and the armed forces.

“The UN has not taken any action against Sri Lanka or accepted the allegations by Channel 4 or the controversial Darusman report,” Peiris told Daily Mirror.

He again stated that the allegations brought against Sri Lanka by the Channel 4 by airing a video were politically motivated and detailed the previous four instances when these allegations had surfaced.

“They first emerged on the eve of the GSP+ renewal in Brussels, thereafter prior to my meeting with the British Foreign Secretary William Hague in London. Thereafter when President Mahinda Rajapaksa was in London to address the Oxford Union and most recently during the sessions of the UN Human Rights Council,” he said.

The minister said the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission and the Ministry of Defence would analyse the footage presented in the Channel 4 documentary but that there were a number of questions about its authenticity.

“There are substantial grounds for questioning the material. There is evidence that the quality of the video proves that it could not have been captured on a mobile phone. There are discrepancies between the audio and visual sequences. Furthermore if there are shots fired, there should be background noises, for instance the birds in the area would disperse—but there is no indication of this,” he said.

He said that experts suspected that the footage could have been superimposed on old footage that was presented earlier.

(By Dianne Silva)

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Comments - 28

raju Tuesday, 21 June 2011 06:29 AM

IGNORING INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY'S CONCERN WILL DAMAGE SRILANKA, YOU MAY HAVE TO PAY A BIG PRICE FOR ALL THESE.

ben Wednesday, 22 June 2011 04:33 AM

GROW UP mate !

Whacko Wednesday, 22 June 2011 01:44 AM

Whose gun is he sticking to?.

post Tuesday, 21 June 2011 11:25 PM

thats why , you can stay until to dead.

Lokaya Tuesday, 21 June 2011 06:27 PM

They can't simply do anything other than to tarnish our image. But have they succeeded in damaging us after 2 years of war and amidst overwhelming electoral victories and GSP withdrawls? They are fuming mad as now they are even kneeling before the Taliban to escape defeat in a war they can't seem to win. Their economies are bankrupt with rising unemployment and are slowly swept away by emerging powers like China, Russia and India. But they make noises for the gallery due to domestic political considerations.

Calistus Jayatilleke Tuesday, 21 June 2011 04:53 PM

And those who want to fire these guns are not capable of even standing straight!

Raja Tuesday, 21 June 2011 03:19 PM

How can any self respecting nation humiliate itself by answering unsubstantiated collection of allegations made by every Tom, Dick and Harry, including this illegally setup Darusman Panel of the UNSG (and NOT by the UN).

Patriot Tuesday, 21 June 2011 01:02 PM

GL can not do without guns? Poor guy.....

DeSelva Tuesday, 21 June 2011 10:36 AM

good choice of words...sticking to Guns....

ASHRAFF NAZIM Tuesday, 21 June 2011 09:59 AM

IGNORING ALWAYS IS NOT THE SOLUTION CLEAN HEART MAKE SUCCESS IN ANY ISSUE - ashraff nazim dubai

Titta Tuesday, 21 June 2011 09:52 AM

HOW MUCH A COPY ?

Lanke Banda Tuesday, 21 June 2011 09:50 AM

YEESSS THE WAY TO GO. DO NOT GIVE INTO BULLYING.

Calistus Jayatilleke Tuesday, 21 June 2011 09:30 AM

These Guns are sans any ammunitions!

spark Tuesday, 21 June 2011 07:06 AM

Leave alone law, he does not even know nature and why birds will never want to stay in a location of aerial bombardment.

spark Tuesday, 21 June 2011 02:47 AM

The reason for non-response to the UN Report is clear. A Democratic Honorable State shows transparency and legality in its actions to her citizens and the international community. A state that is elected democratically but tacitly practices illegality is not only a disgrace internationally but also a shame on the citizens it represents.

cracko Tuesday, 21 June 2011 06:01 AM

This same minister says that in the Ch4 video there were no sound from birds flying when the guns were fired- so the video is a fake. What will they think of next?

cracko Tuesday, 21 June 2011 05:43 AM

'Govt did not recognise the panel' . So you did not respond. Fine. Now you want to produce a report. Who wants to read that? What a joke!

Guru Tuesday, 21 June 2011 05:23 AM

You should point the gun at MR & Gota, but you are too old even for that. Rest in peace.

Samuel Tuesday, 21 June 2011 05:19 AM

Right DM. Govt is always answering with the Gun, that's the problem

malkanthi Tuesday, 21 June 2011 05:13 AM

Greater transparency will cause greater humiliation. Anyway the guilty conscious cannot bear the honesty of others: So they will try to reduce all others to their own level.

Ezhilini Tuesday, 21 June 2011 05:02 AM

We don t reply the Panael report, It is a complete lie. But, we will prepare the post conflict progress report. Nice one PROFESSOR.

Minister Tuesday, 21 June 2011 05:01 AM

onna dan kannaie yanne!

Paul Tuesday, 21 June 2011 04:36 AM

You always preach one thing and practise something totally different.You are used to it,and the people,too.

ravi Tuesday, 21 June 2011 03:49 AM

Yes you cannot reply sir because your team is guilty.. you will feel the back fire very soon .

SWRD Tuesday, 21 June 2011 03:43 AM

OF COURSE!, IF WE RESPOND UN WOULD ASK MORE QUESTIONS , THEN OUR LIES WILL COME TO LIGHT

SWRD Tuesday, 21 June 2011 03:36 AM

it clearly show how SL would handle its tamil minority in the future,

ben Tuesday, 21 June 2011 03:30 AM

Well said...Bravo ! We are definitely a joke in the eyes of the world...

Brenan Tuesday, 21 June 2011 03:34 AM

Hey go and spark out side not here..

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Govt. sticks to its guns on Panel report

Comments - 28

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