Opposition leader Mahinda Rajapaksa today warned the Government not to betray Sri Lanka in Geneva.
He noted that the Government has announced that they will co-sponsor yet another Resolution against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).
Rajapaksa said that the contents of the UN Human Rights Commissioner’s latest report on Sri Lanka, in addition to similar reports in previous years, gives rise to the question whether Sri Lanka is any longer a sovereign nation.
He claims Resolution 30/1 sought to betray the armed forces and wartime leaders to interested foreign parties and was co-sponsored by the Government at a time when they were expecting large inflows of foreign aid.
“Speaking of the new draft resolution that is now on the table, Minister Lashman Kiriella said in Parliament that Sri Lanka has been praised for the progress made and that there was nothing wrong in co-sponsoring that resolution. Indeed, there are some words of praise in the draft resolution, but that is for things like the treachery committed by this Government in readily cooperating with their foreign overlords and passing the new laws that we mentioned earlier. What is seen in a positive light by the foreign masters of this Government translates directly into a betrayal of Sri Lanka,” he said.
He said the Government must communicate to the UN Human Rights Commissioner and members of the UNHRC that Sri Lanka will no longer co-sponsor resolutions against itself in the UNHRC, that Sri Lanka does not accept the allegations made in OHCHR Report No: 30/61 of 28 September 2015, that hybrid war crimes courts with foreign judges and prosecutors will never be set up in Sri Lanka and that Acts No: 14 of 2016, No: 5 of 2018 and No: 24 of 2018 which are highly detrimental to Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and the fundamental rights of its citizens, will be repealed and replaced with legislation more in keeping with Sri Lanka national interest.
Rajapaksa says all members of the delegation representing the Government in Geneva should clearly understand that anything short of the above will effectively, be a betrayal of the people of Sri Lanka.
Courtesy: Colombo Gazette
