Prof. Vitharana rejects UNHRC report

25 September 2015 06:53 am

Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) Secretary Prof. Tissa Vitharana today rejected the content of the UN report on Sri Lanka and the manner of its preparation by the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR).

“We shall support all genuine efforts made by the present Government to achieve reconciliation and national unity, provided no outside interference is permitted. The taking of action against those guilty of alleged war crimes is an internal matter that we are capable of handling. If the need for any foreign assistance should arise it could be sought by us at our discretion. It must not be thrust on us as is being attempted by the UNHRC. Therefore, we reject both the content of the report and the manner of its preparation by the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR),” he said. (Lahiru Pothmulla)

The full statement

The Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) has always stood for a just solution to the national question. We must unite as one Sri Lankan nation with a Sri Lankan identity that transcends racial, religious and caste identities. We oppose all forms of discrimination on the basis of race, religion, caste or gender. As such we shall support all genuine efforts made by the present Government to achieve reconciliation and national unity, provided no outside interference is permitted. The taking of action against those guilty of alleged war crimes is an internal matter that we are capable of handling. If the need for any foreign assistance should arise it could be sought by us at our discretion. It must not be thrust on us as is being attempted by the UNHRC. The LSSP rejects both the content of the Report, and the manner of its preparation, by the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR).

The allegations made by the UNHRC Report are grossly exaggerated and distorted, and as those giving evidence have been guaranteed freedom from being questioned for twenty years, their evidence carries no legal validity. Realizing this, the UNHRC is seeking to gain entry into our internal processes to influence local outcomes and thereby gain credibility for some of their false charges. The LSSP refutes the grounds on which this is being done. It is incorrect to state that our judges, lawyers, inquirers and prosecutors are not competent. They have served with distinction, even in the International Criminal Court (ICC), and been widely recognized abroad. Sri Lanka has a well-established Legal System and if there are shortcomings in our laws with regard to war crimes these can be introduced by us through our Parliament.

The LLRC Report clearly indicated what had occurred and what needed to be done, and was acclaimed by the so-called international community itself. For example, a reputed American professor from Nevada in the field of digital technology had shown conclusively that the Channel 4 film was a fake and that what was even shown as blood was also faked. The LLRC Report devoted 104 pages of its annex to present this evidence, but this is not given a place in the UNHRC Report, internationally it is accepted that in warfare if there is one death there should be 4 to 5 who are wounded. If the claim of 40,000 deaths in the final stages made by the UNHRC is correct there should have been at least 160,000 to 200,000 with gunshot wounds.

This would have filled 3/4 of the hospital beds in the whole island. The figure by the Health Authorities and even the local UN officials was 7 to 8,000 deaths, and this fits in with the census data.

It is clear that the UNHRC is targeting the former President, Defence Secretary, Army Chief and selected Armed Forces personnel, but they have not been named, as legally valid evidence is lacking. The UNHRC would like to manufacture the evidence, to produce an adverse report, and to do this it is important that their agents become an integral part of the investigation on the basis of setting up a hybrid War Crimes tribunal. Even on the basis of such an adverse report, direct UN action is not likely to arise due to support for Sri Lanka in the Security Council from China and Russia. But it could be the basis for action in the ICC and by Individual countries.

Though we are not signatories to the Rome Statute to establish the ICC and have no obligation to fulfill its terms, under Article 15 of the Statute, action is possible by a signatory state like Britain, or even a citizen of such a state, against a non-member state or citizens therein. If the evidence is presented to the ICC, the Prosecutor can present it to a preliminary hearing by a single Judge, who can then refer it to a proper hearing by a full bench. The targeted persons can then be found guilty and action taken against them. On the basis of such a report, if and when necessary, individual countries like Britain and America can even impose economic sanctions on Sri Lanka or its citizens, or hold out that threat, to get compliance from us to implement their agendas. We will lose our independence and our sovereignty.

Sri Lanka is under no legal compulsion to comply with the UNHRC Hybrid War Crimes moves. The LSSP calls upon the Government not to give into these pressures under any circumstances and to act in a manner that preserves Sri Lanka’s independence, sovereignty and good name.

Tissa Vitarana.

General Secretary- LSSP.