Sri Lanka rejects “reckless” US criticism of its rights record
(Reuters) – Sri Lanka rejected U.S. criticism of its human rights record as “grossly disproportionate” on Sunday, a day after a senior U.S. official said Washington would table a U.N. resolution against Colombo.
Assistant Secretary of State Nisha Biswal expressed frustration on Saturday over Sri Lanka’s failure to punish military personnel responsible for atrocities in a civil war that the government won in 2009 against separatist Tamil rebels.
Biswal, speaking in Colombo after a two-day visit, said the United States would table a third U.N. human rights resolution against Sri Lanka in March to address the war crimes allegations as its human rights climate has been worsening.
“The (U.S.) claims… are unsubstantiated. Reckless and irresponsible statements without evidence have been recoursed to in order to create an impact to give way to prejudged action,” Sri Lanka’s External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.
In her criticism, Biswal also referred to attacks on mosques and churches on the island and said some Sri Lankans felt unable to practise their faith “freely and without fear”.
Sri Lanka’s majority Sinhalese are largely Buddhist and its ethnic Tamil minority is mainly Hindu. The country also has small Christian and Muslim minorities.
“POLITICALLY MOTIVATED”
The ministry said claims of religious intolerance were based on an attempt to present isolated incidents as commonplace.
“Attributing blame to the government is totally unwarranted.
While legal action has been taken with regard to some incidents, others have been settled amicably. Therefore, the criticism is grossly disproportionate and politically motivated,” it said.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government, which finally crushed the 26-year rebellion by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009, has rejected calls for an international inquiry, saying these were aimed at pleasing a large Tamil diaspora living in Western countries.
Senior U.S. officials declined to say what would be in the planned UN resolution, but U.S. embassy officials said it may repeat the call for an international investigation in Sri Lanka.
The External Affairs Ministry said that, as a sovereign democratic state, Sri Lanka “does not wish to be dictated to by others in the international community”.
A top Sri Lankan official said in Washington last week that an international inquiry into war crimes would bring “chaos” and insisted that the government’s national reconciliation process must be given several more years to work.
British Prime Minister David Cameron has said he would push for an international inquiry into war crimes allegations if Sri Lanka does not conduct its own probe by March.
A U.N. panel has said around 40,000 mainly Tamil civilians died in the final few months of the war. Both sides committed atrocities, but army shelling killed most victims, it concluded.
Tamil Tiger rebels, known for their use of child solders and suicide bombings, battled government forces from 1983. (Reuters)
Latest Headlines in Sri Lanka
- PUCSL warns CEB: Submit tariff plan by December 6, 2024 or face action November 25, 2024
- ADB approves $200 million to modernize Sri Lanka’s power sector November 25, 2024
- Over 120,000 tourists arrive in Sri Lanka in first 20 days of November 2024 November 25, 2024
- Court orders release of Sujeewa Senasinghe’s SUV on Rs. 100 million bond November 25, 2024
- IMF backs Sri Lanka’s plan to boost revenue with vehicle imports November 25, 2024
Tamil Tiger rebels, known for their use of child solders and suicide bombings, battled government forces from 1983. Is that all? World only terrorists used air attacks, killing monks, slaying families.
Why our people not going in front of embassy and ask who will give their lives back. Why only Tamils talk about this? None of the Sinhalese, Muslims and others got affected?
We need to openly and fearlessly condemn the HYPOCRISY of USA and Britain in bringing resolution against SL at Geneva. Our team of representatives at this conference should bravely condemn this hypocrisy and point the finger at these two countries in particular at the millions of innocent civilians they had wantonly killed, beginning with the WMD atom bombs dropped Nagasaki and Hiroshima. The horrible massacre of civilians in Vietnam is unforgivable. Their blood cry to high heaven to punish the perpetrators of this WAR CRIME OF USA, who dismissed it callously as COLATERAL DAMAGE.
USA is a cesspit of evil war crimes and crimes against humanity, along with its stooge, Britain. UNSG is powerless to bring action against them in the Hague as he is a puppet of USA.
SriLanka: EU stuft Tamil-Tigers als Terroristen ein
Die Europäische Union hat die srilankischen “Befreiungstiger” als Terrorgruppe eingeordnet. Erste Konsequenz: Sämtliche Gelder der Tamilen wurden eingefroren.
Eu has forgotten?this was Year 2006 Spiegel Online in Germana.
There’s a clear thread emerging here of a US lead short term initiative to split SL with a view to creating a strong US support base in the Indian Ocean.
The current regime appears to be indirectly supporting this move, upping local rhetoric to ensure continuity in their local leadership being portrayed as patriots who stood up for the Sinhala civilization.
The division is almost certain to occur with the Tamils lead by a group of US puppets with US$’s flowing in to develop that portion of the Island.
In return, the Trinco and KKS ports will be US bases.
I hope the clever Tamil people and the clever Tamil diaspora don’t fall for the US machinations and end up jumping from the frying pan to the fire !
This rootless woman is talking nonsense.
She is just parroting the words of the NSA (the former CIA) to show American policy. The Americans have discovered a brilliant way of dividing our land and creating a presence in the Indian Ocean to counter the threat of the Asian Dragons.
The Americans mistreated and raped an Indian diplomat in a Police Station behind the reception a month ago. That story has now gone underground. What action have they taken to arrest and charge the culprits? Nobody knows; maybe the culprits were given medals by the Obalmer Government.
This Indian Woman should know it can happen to her. It can happen anytime. It can happen at the Airport when she returns to USA after this trip.
This Indian Woman should go back to her roots and explore the magnificence of Indian Culture. She should expolre the brilliance of over 2500 years of cultural development in Sri Lanka. She should deeply investigate the origins of the various communities in Sri Lanka and examine and present the details of the harmonius existence which prevails.
She should stop being brainwashed by the White Man (or is it Brown Man?) and his cronies and stop associating with Samantha Powers, Susan Rice, Elizabeth Warren and Hillary Clinton; they are all agents of imperialist desire to rule the World.
So Nisha, we do not want you to be the next Devyani Khobragade; Devyani has a home to go to recover from the Obalma Administration’s White Terrorist Policemen public rape; Nisha, you do not have such a home and when it happens to you, the Oblama administration Policemen will come to your home in America, every night.
An American woman of Indian origin, A South African woman of Tamil Origin, An Australian woman with a Tamil Husband … the list goes on, and one can see the obvious bias in them and the willingness to suck up to the pay master at any cost.
One can easily see the traitors inside SL who openly and cordially invite US and UK ambassadors in SL for various functions and decorate their cruel ugly heads with garlands.
Those SL traitors do that because they have become moral slaves of US dollars that flows from those 2 evil countries.
True SL patriots should not accept a cent from those 2 evil countries for any of their social projects so that those 2 countries along with ambassadors can be proudly ignored.
Those who are weak in their moral with a “begger mentality” may argue that without USA and UK aid we will not be able to raise our head. I will ask them to look at Cuba, China, Libya , Iran etc who created great states without a cent from USA or UK.
First you shed your begger mentality, so that you can become truly independent. Otherwise you are a moral slave !
Manjula, in Blog 6, sees a common thread in the course of events. The troublemakers are all Women ! I hope I am not labelled a sexist.