Colombo Telegraph 15February 2012.
IN JOURNALISM TRUTH IS A PROCESSIn ten paragraphs in a separate subsection titled “Treatment of Detainees” the Report deals with several aspects of lawful and unlawful detention and the treatment of detainees.
More than 40 notable members of the Sri Lankan community called upon the government of Sri Lanka, in consultation with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the leadership of the Muslims, to take steps to implement the recommendations.
Issuing a press statement they says; “The purpose of this statement is to express our dismay that the government is taking little follow up action to get down to simple actions that are not particularly controversial if there is a genuine commitment to democracy, human rights and reconciliation.”
The full statement is reproduced below:
Several valuable recommendations are contained in the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission’s (LLRC) Report and they are all the more compelling because they have issued from a Presidential Commission. In pursuance of this, we the undersigned call upon the government of Sri Lanka, in consultation with the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the leadership of the Muslims, to take steps to implement the recommendations. In this statement we have highlighted certain important recommendations. The government is morally bound to implement the proposals of its own commission or otherwise stand indicted of a lack of sincerity.Commitment to the concept of the primacy of civilian democracy over military power makes it imperative that the LLRC recommendations quoted below be implemented forthwith and in full.
Name list of signatories on the next page.
Signed by:-Priyadarshani Ariyaratne -Lionel Bopage-Kumar David (Prof)-Sunanda Deshapriya-Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri
Marshal Fernando-Sarath Fernando (Monlar)-Bhavani Fonseka-Mano Ganesan-Sivaguru Ganesan (Prof)
N Ganesanathan (Dr)-Ruba.H.Gnanaratnam-Farzana Hanifffa (Dr)-S.H. Hasbullah (Prof)-Rohini Hensman (Dr)
Kumara Illangasinghe (Bishop Emeritus)-M. C. M. Iqbal-Vickremabahu Karunaratne (Dr)S. V. Kasynathan (Dr.)
Uvindu Kurukulasuriya-Sumanasiri Liyanage (Dr)-S. Nagendra-Suppiramaniam Nanthikesan-Anita Nesiah (Dr)
Devanesan Nesiah (Dr)-Lanka Nesiah-Vasuki Nesiah-Nigel V. Nugawela-Rajan Philips-Mirak Raheem
Lionel Rajapakse-Mahinda Ratnayake-Surendra Ajith Rupesinghe-Jeanne Samuel-Shireen Saroor
Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu (Dr)-Willie Senanayake (Dr)-Sabapathy Sivagurunathan-Ram Subramaniam
Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu (Dr)-Willie Senanayake (Dr)-Sabapathy Sivagurunathan-Ram Subramaniam
J. Thiruchandran-Selvy Thiruchandran (Dr)-Bradman Weerakone-Lal Wijenayake-E Vivegananthan
