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Sri Lanka's Human Rights Minister Mahinda
Samarasinghe rebuts
High Commissioner Louise Arbour's Statement on CFA abrogation
Minister of Disaster Management
and Human Rights - Sri Lanka
16th January 2008
RESPONSE
OF THE GOVERNMENT OF SRI LANKA TO THE STATEMENT ISSUED BY THE UN HIGH
COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ON THE
END OF THE CEASEFIRE AGREEMENT
The Government of Sri Lanka wishes to inform the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights, that the decision to end the Ceasefire
Agreement (CFA) with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was
taken after careful and serious consideration of effective measures
required to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Sri
Lanka in the backdrop of terrorist activities continued to be perpetrated
by the LTTE with its aim of establishing a mono-ethnic mono-political
separate State in the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka. A
consideration of the conduct of the LTTE during the period commencing
February 2002 (when the CFA came into operation) reveals clearly that
this terrorist organization had not entered into the CFA in good faith
and that it was not interested in resolving the problems of the Tamil
ethnic minority through peaceful dialogue and acceptable political means.
Its unwavering intention of establishing a separate State
became even more evident in 2004 when the LTTE leadership went back
on its post 2002 February declared intent of seeking a solution to the
ethnic conflict within the framework of a constitutional solution wherein
the people of the Northern and Eastern Provinces could enjoy the benefits
of extensive power sharing. LTTE's withdrawal from this declared intention
clearly reveals the continued objective of the LTTE to create a separate
sovereign State. With that intention, the LTTE has continuously and
grievously violated the CFA, causing loss and damage to civilians and
endangering the security of the State.
Several attempts by the Government of Sri Lanka to motivate
the LTTE to change its mind and to take part in meaningful and peaceful
political negotiations, turned futile. Furthermore, credible evidence
has surfaced that the LTTE is readying to launch a major terrorist offensive
against the State and its people. Thus, the Government of Sri Lanka
had no other option than to end the CFA through the procedure stipulated
in the agreement itself and take meaningful measures to eliminate terrorism.
This step was taken by the government in the exercise of its sovereign
rights, for the protection of the State and its people including the
ethnic minorities.
The Government of Sri Lanka remains conscious of the need to resolve
the country's ethnic conflict through political and constitutional means.
With that in mind, the government is currently awaiting the proposals
of the All Party Representatives Committee (APRC) appointed to propose
constitutional means by which the ethnic conflict could be resolved.
These proposals are likely to be received by the government in the very
near future. Military measures the government would implement to eliminate
terrorism would remain independent of steps the government would take
to implement through constitutional means a solution to the ethnic conflict,
so that all people of Sri Lanka would through their democratically elected
representatives enjoy devolved power within the framework of the sovereign
Sri Lankan State.
The Government of Sri Lanka wishes to inform the UN High Commissioner
that, as a responsible State in the global community, the government
is committed to the enforcement of military and other lawful measures
to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka and
to eliminate terrorism, in accordance with the laws of Sri Lanka and
in compliance with international norms and standards including International
Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law. As in the past,
even at the cost of delay in the implementation and successful completion
of military operations, the government will take all necessary and meaningful
measures to avoid civilian casualties and hardships to civilian populations,
some of whom remain kept against their will by the LTTE as human shields.
An example for this policy would be seen in the preemptive military
operation the government was compelled to take in 2007, to liberate
parts of the Eastern Province and its people from the unlawful control
of the LTTE. The government would also continue to uninterruptedly supply
humanitarian aid and food supplies to areas being unlawfully held by
the LTTE, knowing well that a considerable portion of such supplies
would be consumed by fighting cadres of the LTTE.
The Government wishes to assure the UN High Commissioner that it remains
a policy of the State not to tolerate any forms of Human Rights or Humanitarian
Law violations by members of the security forces and the police. The
command, rank and file of the security forces and the police have been
regularly briefed through state sponsored awareness campaigns of the
need to adhere to laws of Sri Lanka and applicable international legal
norms including. Subordinate members of the security forces are aware
that they are obliged to only carryout lawful orders given by superiors.
Superior officers of the security forces are well aware of legal principles
relating to command responsibility. All members of the security forces
and the police are quite aware that certain violations of the law attract
individual criminal responsibility.
The Government wishes to take this opportunity to reiterate its intention
to continue the existing dialogue with the UN High Commissioner, with
the intention of obtaining assistance the government may require to
strengthen domestic mechanisms including the National Human Rights Commission,
so that its functions including the investigation and reporting of alleged
Human Rights violations could be efficaciously discharged.
The government remains committed to strengthen domestic mechanisms,
and wishes to avail itself of this opportunity to restating its opposition
to the proposal made by the UN High Commissioner to establish UN field
presence in Sri Lanka for monitoring and reporting. The government is
of the view that the proposal has not been made applying objectively
laid down transparent criteria adopted by the international community
and does not reflect the actual ground situation. Furthermore, objective
and accurate reasoning which would necessitate the implementation of
such a mechanism has not been given by the UN High Commissioner. Thus
the proposal is totally unacceptable to the Government of Sri Lanka.
The Government is compelled to indicate to the UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights, that it considers her Statement on the end of the
CFA containing warnings on 'individual criminal responsibility' as being
untimely, inappropriate and unacceptable. Therefore, the government
regrets that the UN High Commissioner deemed it necessary and appropriate
to issue such a statement.
The government wishes to state that, its decision to end the CFA would
not be reversed and would be implemented as previously stated, in the
best interest of the country and its people. Following the end of the
CFA, with the assistance of its well trained, professional and disciplined
security forces, the Government of Sri Lanka would take all necessary
measures to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the
country and eliminate terrorism.
Mahinda Samarasinghe MP
Minister of Disaster Management and Human Rights
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