A “Troika” Without Credibility & A Merry-go-round For People
By Kusal Perera -March 28, 2015
Kusal Perara
“The whole country doesn’t want (an international inquiry) because it is the feeling that it is insulting to the government that we cannot carry out our own investigation in a transparent manner” Chandrika B. Kumaratunga quoted by UK IBTimes as reported in DailyFT of 17 March, 2015.
“UN can give its probe. We’ll engage the UN on these issues. That’s the difference. We’re going to engage the UN Human Rights Council on these issues. All we’re saying is any criminal jurisdiction must be exercised in Sri Lanka. Any civil jurisdiction has to be exercised in Sri Lanka. Only the Sri Lankan courts can determine this issue.” PM Ranil Wickramesinghe with NDTV in Colombo on 19 January, 2015
On 12 March, 2015 Al Jazeera reported, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena plans to set up a domestic inquiry into alleged crimes committed during the country’s civil war.“….but outside investigators would not be necessary” Sirisena told Al Jazeera
In his (PM Wickremesinghe’s) first formal interaction with the media on 26 March, PM “referred to the setting up of an Office for National Unity headed by former President Chandrika Kumaratunga as well as retention of four international experts who were originally appointed to advice the Maxwell Paranagama-led Commission of Inquiry.” (DailyFT – 27 March)
What’s important in all these quotes are their inherent contradictions, ambiguity and deceptions in saying what should be told to the people, not being told straight and direct. PM Wickremesinghe tells NDTV’s Srinivasan Jain, the difference between Rajapaksa and his government is that, his government would engage the UN Human Rights Council. President Sirisena is quoted by Al Jazeera as saying there will not be any outside investigators. Does he then mean, not even UNHRC engagement as it would mean an insult to his government as explained by former president Kumaratunga? She has told a UK based media, the whole country is against any international inquiry into war related crimes. When she says “whole country”, she perhaps discounts the North that is openly agitating against any domestic investigation.Read More