Last week, the General Secretary of United Nations, Ban-Ki-Moon proposed to appoint a panel of experts to investigate the recent human rights situation of Sri Lanka. This suggestion to appoint a panel of experts to advise the General Secretary has been opposed by Sri Lankan president, Mahinda Rajapaksha, and other leading political parties of the country. The main argument is that United Nation is trying to intervene into the internal matters of an independent country and that it would challenge the sovereignty of Sri Lanka. This news has become a hot topic in the election campaigns for forthcoming parliament elections on 8th of April.
Having heard that kind of baseless agreement of Sri Lankan political parties and politicians, personally I believe that it would be more important to make a fruitful effort to investigate human rights violations in the country, rather than argue with the international community and international organisations. As I see it, this is a great opportunity for the Sri Lankan government to work in a friendly manner with UN and also to develop trust among both sides.
It would be better to have transparent investigations into human rights violations during the war period in order to bring a sense of justice to the people who suffered most. This can also win the trust of the international community as well as other concerned local parties. I trust that many of us - people and organisations - value an investigative process on the inhuman treatment of civilians during the war and the restorative steps taken for the venerable and affected people.
Using logic to sidestep these sensitive issues connected with people’s lives would not help build trust between Mahinda Rajapaksha’s government and international community, including the large Sri Lankan ethnic diaspora.
