{"id":67471,"date":"2017-07-02T22:46:51","date_gmt":"2017-07-03T04:46:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=67471"},"modified":"2017-07-02T15:05:29","modified_gmt":"2017-07-02T22:05:29","slug":"looks-like-admiral-sarath-weerasekera-has-upset-the-unhrc-head","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2017\/07\/02\/looks-like-admiral-sarath-weerasekera-has-upset-the-unhrc-head\/","title":{"rendered":"Looks like Admiral Sarath Weerasekera has upset the UNHRC Head"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shenali D Waduge<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

In April 2017 Amnesty International admitted that the very basis of the Geneva Resolution 30\/1 adopted in Oct 1, 2015 is questionable. Then in June 2017, defending Sri Lanka & its armed forces through a NGO, admiral Sarath Weerasekera asked why the UNHRC is going after the Sri Lanka Army who defeated terrorists when the crimes of the West are ignored. The impact of the question and the questions of illegality by UNHRC plus the fact that Britain\u2019s PM recently declared they would shred human rights laws to defend their troops has resulted in a hurried response by the UNHRC head who is now in a pickle. Is there a prima facie case against Sri Lanka, without such there can be no war crimes tribunals.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Where were resolutions by the UN or UNHRC since terrorism started throughout 1980s? Why did the same countries and UN not do anything to stop terror? Why did they all enter the scene after LTTE\u2019s defeat?<\/p>\n

Suddenly the UNSG arrives 3 days after the defeat. He goes in a helicopter viewing entire scene of the military operation. It was the best opportunity to see fresh \u2018graves\u2019 the only evidence to prove killing of 40,000 or more people was actually committed.<\/p>\n

Contrary to what is promoted there was no such commitment to hold any investigation by the GOSL in the joint statement issues after his visit. However, the GOSL did launch the LLRC investigation in March 2010. Why did UNSG need to appoint a personal panel in June 2010 without giving the GOSL any time to end its investigation? He had not appointed such panels for other conflicts taking place globally!<\/p>\n

When the PoE legality is in question and if so it automatically questions the basis of the 3 resolutions what is crucial is that inspite of the drama associated with the claims of \u2018genocide\u2019 and mass killing there is no prima facie case to prove any of the allegations.<\/strong> No dead bodies, no skeletons, not even 40,000 names with valid identifications! The onus is on those making the allegations to provide proof. 8 years we have still to be presented with proof to warrant a war crimes tribunal.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Serious illegal questions arise<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. PoE is a personally commissioned report by the UNSG with no approval given by UNSC or UNGA.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. PoE report was not tabled in the UNGA, UNSG or UNHRC nor was SL given the right to officially respond to it.<\/li>\n
  3. How did a personally commissioned report become the basis for 3 UNHRC resolutions<\/strong> leading to a demand for a war crimes tribunal? A personally commissioned report has no basis for any action against a sovereign UN member state.<\/li>\n
  4. How can a personally commissioned panel requested to report on the last 3 months of the conflict ignore 30 years of terror and subject one party to war crimes charges without producing a prima facie case for such?<\/strong> Investigating part of a conflict and advocating relief to only one ethnic group is totally biased and unfair dishing of justice!<\/li>\n
  5. Without a prima facie case for war crimes how can UNHRC place PoE \u2018witnesses\u2019 sealed for 20 years.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  6. Why did the PoE panel refuse to accept the UN country team estimate of 7721 deaths and have refused to release that report and instead brings in Charles Petrie to issue a report that UN had failed the victims.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  7. The other important factor is that the UNHRC has been throughout concentrating only on Tamils being the victims \u2013 totally ignoring other victims of the war, <\/strong>the many Sinhalese civilians, public servants, Buddhist priests, politicians, children killed as well as Muslim civilians and even worshippers killed and more importantly UNHRC has completely ignored Sinhalese & Muslims in any resettlement programs as well as compensation and other aid programs. This is totally unacceptable. Sinhalese & Muslims were ethnically cleansed from their original habitats in the North in the early 1990s. Some of these victims have even presented details to the OISL.<\/li>\n
  8. Numerous times OHCHR head interfering in internal affairs of Sri Lanka flouting Article 7 of the UN Charter was cited by ordering Sri Lanka what type of courts to establish and who are to sit in judgment. Both times the UNHRC visited Sri Lanka both did not see any of the Sinhala or Muslim victims of LTTE terror. While UNHRC has even been hosting heads of proscribed LTTE fronts even in Geneva<\/li>\n
  9. At no time has the UNHRC made a statement on the 5000 missing Sri Lankan Army soldiers whose names have been submitted to the Geneva UNHRC office as well as logged with the Presidential Commission on Missing Persons.<\/strong> Even with all the details available nothing has been done.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Questioning the credibility of the PoE Panelists (Marzuki Darusman, Steven Ratner, Yasmin Sooka)<\/strong><\/p>\n

    If the mandate of the panel was not a \u2018fact finding or investigative\u2019 one the Panel has no right to make conclusions that IHL violations occurred, to classify sources as \u2018confidential\u2019 denying cross-examination for 20 years.<\/p>\n

    The panel immediately after handing over report co-authors article titled \u2018Revisiting Sri Lanka\u2019s Bloody War\u201d replacing their own conclusion of \u2018credible allegations\u2019 with \u2018credible evidence\u2019 http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2012\/03\/03\/opinion\/revisiting-sri-lankas-bloody-war.html?_r=0<\/a> Sooka is also a regular invitee to events of proscribed LTTE fronts where she is addressed as \u2018our comrade\u2019.<\/p>\n

    Shamindra Ferndinando writing to Island newspaper also questioned the PoE-LTTE lobby link How Moon Panel gathered war crimes info revealed\u201d 20 April 2012. Sooka is also on the Advisory Council of the Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace & Justice and joined several Tamil leaders in signing a petition calling for War Crimes investigation in March 2014. This explains PoE conclusion that LTTE was the most disciplined and most nationalist of the Tamil military groups\u2019. Panel is out of line to say conflict ended \u2018tragically\u2019 when entire country was relieved that 30 years of terror had ended. Panel has no business to comment on the former President or his family. That has no relevance to their mandate!<\/p>\n

    A good analysis of statements issued officially by UNSG, OHCHR heads Navi Pillay and Zeid reveals that they have already determined SL Army as guilty. This is a grave injustice to a UN member state by officials who are paid to be unbiased. The locus standi of the former OHCHR head was questioned on account of her being an ethnic Tamil and it was her duty to recuse herself from the case. Despite raising this conflict of interest the UN system ignored calls to appoint an unbiased official and her bias was proven when immediately after retiring from her post one of her first visits as chief guest was to a proscribed LTTE front in Canada!<\/p>\n

    PoE was illegal and had no prima facie case.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    The 2nd<\/sup> investigation OISL was based on the PoE too did not have a prima facie case! And the UNHRC continues to demand Sri Lanka to investigate credible allegations.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    All that those who are making allegations have come up with 3rd<\/sup> party \u2018invisible\u2019 witness stories and edited documentaries! After 2 investigations there is still no legally binding case!<\/strong><\/p>\n

    OISL investigation<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Even the credibility in the choice for OISL investigators were highlighted. Marti Ahtisaari has been accused of accepting bribes by the Albanian Mafia to deliver Kosovo independence!<\/p>\n

    Moreover the OISL was mandated to cover only the period in LLRC 2002-2009 however it has included years after the conclusion of the conflict which covers only one side only.<\/p>\n

    What has obviously happened is that media lies, lobbying and money has completely taken entire UNHRC for a ride thus crippling its credibility. Media lies, Lobbying and money cannot be allowed to influence due process in the UN\/UNHRC. http:\/\/www.onlanka.com\/news\/how-media-and-hr-groups-purposely-misinterpreted-ban-ki-moons-panel-of-expert-report.html<\/a><\/p>\n

    Some International Laws UNHRC & those who signed Resolutions against SL forgot to look at<\/strong><\/p>\n