Implementing UNHRC recommendations problematic: Nimal Siripala
Posted on October 1st, 2015
Courtesy The Daily Mirror
The implementation of the UNHRC, recommendations including the establishment of a war crimes tribunal, would create many legal issues in the country’s judicial system, as a new Constitution and a referendum would be required to implement the recommendations, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) said today.
The SLFP’s senior vice president, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said the highest court in Sri Lanka was the Supreme Court and there was no hybrid court in Sri Lanka’s judicial system.
The UNHRC report says that Sri Lanka needs to adopt feasibility legislation, specific legislation to facilitate a hybrid court mandated to probe war crimes committed by security forces personnel. We will need to change our Constitution in order to make room for a hybrid court, and we can’t make these happen overnight,” he said at a media briefing.
The minister also said the UNHRC had further recommended that new legislation should be enacted to criminalise war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and enforced disappearances, and said new laws would have to be enacted by parliament in order to criminalise these subjects.
According to our law, if a new law was passed, we can’t apply that law to deal with what was done in the past. Therefore, if we are to introduce new laws and then to probe war crimes which were committed in the past, we will have to have a referendum to get the people’s approval,” he said; adding that passing new laws and changing the Constitution were not simple procedures and many problems would would arise when attempts were made to do so.
He said the final position of the SLFP on the subject was not yet to decided as the special committee appointed by the party was still carefully perusing the contents of the final report adopted by the UNHRC.
The minister thanked President Maithripala Sirisena for his achievements at the United Nations and said the delegation had been successful in watering down the resolution to some extent. However, our final stance on the resolution will be made public soon,” he said. (Lahiru Pothmulla) – See more at: http://www.dailymirror.lk/89643/implementing-unhrc-recommendations-problematic-nimal-siripala#sthash.BT38mbmD.dpuf
October 1st, 2015 at 3:57 pm
Please look after transport ! There is a lot to do there for people. Today THE BUS and THE BAJAAJ has become new LTTE.
October 1st, 2015 at 7:08 pm
|What Siripala de Silva states is probably only the tip of the ice-berg.
What many commentators see in this Geneva deal is an error on the part of the GOSL. However the error on the part of the Geneva administration and the supporting Westerners could turn out to be even greater…even insurmountable. In the final analysis the GOSL move might even prove to be a quick sand the ‘whites’ are being invited to tread on. We know what our locals did to the ‘parangiyas’ who insisted on going to Kotte. They said if you want it so, then so be it. Now come along’.
There is a key issue that writers and commentators have failed to dwell on.That issue is the LANGUAGE issue. In what language are those western experts and invitees going to work on? Maxwell Paranagama recently mentioned the thousands who had either been summoned or volunteered to come before the commission. The report the HR commission threw at our face was built on third party statements…,mostly of the diaspora element and based on hearsay or simply cooked up. But what weighs with a court is the original stuff presented by live witnesses. Now what language do these live witnesses speak? Certainly not English.
the further question is, who will do the interpretation and translation work for the benefit of the foreigners present at the hearings? The still more basic question is, does this country have such qualified interpreters and translators – ones who can interpret and translate correctly from and into Sinhala and Tamil? I would say NO. Do not forget that after evidence is led there will be cross-examination. All this will be done in Sinhalese and Tamil. the questions will be in these two languages and so will the answers…and do not forget the interpreter and his version for the benefit of the foreigners ! And after that pain, toil, and sweat, everything has to be put in writing, into Sinhala, Tamil and English. Hopefully will Geneva also provide the Sinhala and Tamil interpreters and translators???
It may be that the position taken by the GOSL was after all the correct one. The ‘whities’ insisted on going to Kotte and our chaps just said ‘come along’. And so they will go and go and go.
I am reminded of a children’s poem of someone who went over the mountain to see what he could see. And what do you think he saw? and what do you think he saw?…. the other side of the mountain,the other side of the mountain (to be repeated twice more), and that was all he saw!.
Let me sum all this up with a pithy Sinhala saying: Muhuda kenda wunath, nendage athey henda ! Would someone please translate it for the Geneva Whites?
Mario Perera
kadawata
October 1st, 2015 at 7:11 pm
Mr Siripala, Stop licking Sirisena,s butt. Be a man. Protest against this despicable act of Maru Sira and Gon Ranil. Think about the country. Not your petty political ambitions.
October 1st, 2015 at 11:04 pm
I took over a country isolated by the International Community – President
October 2, 2015 11:09 am
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“I took over a country isolated by the international community,” Mr. Sirisena said, after a marathon set of speeches and meetings. “The main challenge I faced was to win over the international community. I believe these efforts have borne fruit,” President Maithripala Sirisena has told the New York Times during his visit to the US for the UN General Assembly.
Mr. Sirisena, over tea at his hotel in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday afternoon, said the court would be established after what he called careful consultations with religious leaders, politicians and military officials.
Asked for evidence, his ambassador to the United States, Prasad Kariyawasam, jumped in to say that the president had been offered a seat at the head table at lunch with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, along with Mr. Obama and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Mr. Sirisena said his offer of assistance in peacekeeping efforts had been welcomed.
Mr. Sirisena promised to help with more soldiers, including special forces units and experts on clearing unexploded ordnance. It put the onus on the United Nations system to carefully vet those soldiers, and roles they might have played in Sri Lanka’s own war.
In the interview on Wednesday, Mr. Sirisena was unwilling to commit himself to any particular judicial mechanism, saying he would keep an open mind and make sure it was in keeping with Sri Lanka’s Constitution.
Sri Lanka does not allow foreign lawyers to practice in its courts, an aide to the president said later, and it was not possible for the country to set up a new international court without amending the Constitution, which would be extremely difficult politically.
“The mechanism must be domestic,” Mr. Sirisena said.
October 2nd, 2015 at 1:51 am
Our government’s silence forcing our judges to respond to these murderers in saint’s clothing at UN is disgusting. Our political fools should have strongly defended him.
Paranagama stands up for Commission’s credentials
Refutes UNHRC claim
Disna Mudalige
Missing Persons’ Commission Chairman Justice Maxwell Paranagama yesterday refuted UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein’s claim that there were widespread concerns on the credibility and effectiveness of the Commission.
Speaking to the Daily News, he said the Commission has done its best.
He also noted the Presidential Commission to Investigate into Complaints regarding Missing Persons has finalised the second interim report with regard to its first mandate and the final report with regard to its second mandate.
When the Commission was first established it was only given the mandate to investigate on the missing persons . Later its mandate was extended to cover violation of international humanitarian law and human rights law during the last phase of the war. “We have done our duty and when the two reports are published, they will know what we have done” he observed.
He said the reports would be submitted to President Maithripala Sirisena shortly.
” We deny what they say that there had been no credible investigation. We have got 19,000 complaints with regard to missing persons . Out of that 16,000 from the civilians of the North and East and 3,600 from security forces. We have covered about 3,500-2,000 complaints orally by visiting all those places.
He observed the Commission has done its investigations in detail and it has been very transparent throughout. “What more do they expect? Can they criticize our work?” he asked.
“We have been having our public sittings in villages making easy for those people to come. We have been accessible to anybody. After recording their oral submissions we have studied them. Now we have referred those matters for in-depth investigations to the new investigation teams that have been
appointed by the President on our recommendation.
– See more at: http://www.dailynews.lk/?q=local/paranagama-stands-commissions-credentials#sthash.geTXZLaM.dpuf