Sri Lanka News Updates with Discussions

Kahawatte Killings: Mobs burn house of Minister s Coordinating Secy

At the UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva, the US submitted the draft resolution on Sri Lanka.

The resolution welcomes the constructive recommendations made by the LLRC in its report.

However, it notes with concern that the report does not adequately address serious allegations of violations of international humanitarian law.

Geneva: India,SL take common stand on NGOs, paymasters

An unexpected condemnation of India over accountability issues at the current sessions of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has prompted India to take a line similar to that of Sri Lanka on the issue of foreign-NGOs. Sri Lanka and India have, according to Geneva based sources, taken exception to the views expressed by Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Margaret Sekaggya, who was critical of them on the basis of unsubstantiated claims made by NGOs. Sources told The Island that former Attorney General Mohan Peiris on behalf of the Sri Lankan delegation urged the UN not to be deceived by those hurling allegations against others for their personal benefit. Sources said that the spat between India, a key member of the 47-member UNHRC and the council highlighted the readiness of those at the helm at the premier UN body to go on record, without verifying facts. Some of th concerns raised by ex-Ugandan judicial official Sekaggya with regard to the situation in India were discussed during a debate in the British Parliament last September. A statement issued by the Sri Lankan mission in Geneva quoted Peiris as having told the sessions: 'We believe you have the competency to identify those of them whose heart and soul are genuinely with human rights.
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NGOs, paymasters

World socialists reject both US-backed resolution and Sri Lanka s opposition


The Obama administration is pushing the resolution as a means of pressuring the Rajapakse government to accommodate US interests and those of India At the same time, the Sri Lankan government has mounted a hysterical campaign at home against the supposed international conspiracy to tarnish the country s name The bourgeois Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is likewise manoeuvring. It previously condemned the LLRC report, but now calls for the implementation of its recommendations in line with
Washington and New Delhi.
The TNA is desperately seeking US and Indian backing for a political solution , from which it hopes to benefit The Socialist Equality Party rejects both the phony US-backed resolution and the Rajapakse government s chauvinist campaign against it, said World Socialist Web Site on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka s socialist ploy and ambassador in Geneva, Tamara Kunanayakam was cited by Daily Mirror on Tuesday, accusing that the Western countries want only a regime change in Sri Lanka.

The US delegate John C. Mariz, addressing the 19th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva yesterday, said the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) report does not comprise any plan to execute its recommendations, nor does it sufficiently address the critical issue of accountability.

nor does it sufficiently address the critical issue of accountability.