LLRCers not in UN report committee

22 April 2011 05:10 pm

The Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC ) Chairman and other members have decided not to participate in any committee that would be appointed by the government to respond to the UN experts panel that had alleged human right violations during the war.

LLRC is headed by former Attorney General Chitta Ranjan de Silva, and the other members are President's Counsel Dr. Amrith Rohan Perera, Prof. Mohamed Thahir, Professor Karunaratne Hangawatte of the School of Criminal Justice at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), Attorneys-at-Law Mohamed Jiffry, Chandirapal Chanmugam, H.M.G. Palihakkara, Mrs. Manohari Ramanathan and Maxwell Parakrama Paranagama.

LLRC Media Consultant Lakshman Wickremesinghe who responded to the speculation that had been in the air that member of the LLRC Former Foreign Ministry Secretary H.M.G. Palihakkara is to be included in a special committee that would to be appointed by the government to look into the panel report said neither him or the other members can participate in such a commission as it would be improper.

Mr. Wickremesinghe explained that it would be improper for any member to participate in such a commission as they would be dealing with the same issue which the LLLRC is dealing with.

“The LLRC is dealing with the same issue that the panel appointed by Moon had talked of but with a different perspective and therefore there may be conflict of interests if they participated in any committee dealing with the same issue,” he said.

He explained that the LLRC was a commission which was functioning independently though it was appointed by President Mahinda Rajapaksa whereas any committee appointed to look into the UN panel report would have another objective.

Responding to a statement made by the Minister of External Affairs Professor G. L. Peries that the government had no intention to appoint any committee to look into the panel report in Sri Lanka was welcomed as there was no necessity for the government to look into it as the panel was not an official body appointed by the UN.

He said one could answer only to a resolution or a report that was submitted by the four official bodies of the UN namely the Security Council, Human Rights Council, General Assembly and International Criminal Court of Justice. (Yohan Perera)