N. A. de S. Amaratunga Courtesy Island

November 4, 2015, 12:00 pm

Our government has willingly or unwillingly placed the country’s war heroes at the mercy of foreign judges, lawyers and prosecutors by co-sponsoring the UNHRC resolution and thereby not allowing our friendly countries to object to such country specific resolutions that infringe on the sovereignty and the independence and poses a threat to the armed forces that defended a country against terrorists.

I use the word’ mercy’ here because the proposed investigative and judiciary process is not one where a fair trial could be expected. It will not be a process that we normally see in the civilized world. None of the accepted methods of testing and verifying the evidence will be available to the accused. The identity of the witnesses will not be revealed for several years. The foreign judges, in spite of the government’s claim that they will be appointed with its consent, no doubt will be puppets of the western–dominated UNHRC.

Placing the country’s war winning military personnel at the mercy of foreigners is the worst possible insult and indignity that a government can subject them to. Citizens of this country who owe their lives to the armed forces will not take it lightly. The UNP has lost votes in the past for ridiculing the armed forces, their effort and achievements. Unless the government opts for a course correction even at this juncture it will be asking for trouble.