SL Commander in Mali - We're not responsible for his recall: HRCSL

The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) yesterday categorically rejected allegations of being responsible in any manner for the UN request for the repatriation of Lt. Col. Kalana Amunupura, the Commander of the Sri Lankan Military Contingent deployed in Mali as part of the UN Peacekeeping Mission.

"With reference to the Daily Mirror article titled, 'UN request to withdraw the Commander, Prez expresses concern, has misgivings about the role played by the HRCSL," Chairperson Dr. N.D Udagama," said in a statement.

"HRCSL vetting was suspended pursuant to a letter dated May 23, 2017 sent to the Commission by the then Army Commander Major Gen. Krishantha Silva, stating that the entire contingent to be sent to MALI for peacekeeping purposes has been vetted by the UN and that vetting by HRCSL was not required. HR vetting in regard to the military contingent for UN Peacekeeping to MALI was carried out by the UN and is a fact known to all parties concerned.

"In fact, we note that Lt. Col. Amunupura’s name was not in the list of names sent by the SCA to the HRCSL on January 25, 2017 for vetting.

"We note that the Daily Mirror news item captioned Lt. Col. Amunapura recalled from Mali, published in today’s Daily Mirror (26th October, 2018) which reports that the Sri Lanka Army has confirmed that “the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) was in no way involved in the decision to recall Lt. Col. Kalana Amunupura," the statement said.