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Presenter (Beckey Anderson): Sri Lankan human rights record continues to be called into the
question the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights says opportunities for peace are being damaged by abuses allegedly carried out during the conflict. Navi Pillay told the UN’s Human Rights Council. Quote, “I am convinced that Sri Lanka should undertake the full reckoning of the
grave violations committed by all sides during the war”. UN’s Refugee agencies welcome to help the displaced Sri Lankans return home this year an estimated 1000 people will be assisted in returning to Sri Lanka from India. The UN agencies say that many of these people were
remaining in camps and with host families well in to 2010. The return of displaced Sri Lankan people relies on programmes to rebuild the damaged infrastructure and clear many areas of land mines especially in the North. Let’s bring in Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in the UK Nihal
Jayasinghe. Let me start in the North, in months of the destruction of the tigers witnesses report that Colombo has done precious little to help. What is being done to rehabilitate as it were reconstruct the area that was badly devastated?
HE the High Commissioner : Yes, you will realise that we finished the war only roughly some ten months ago and we cannot do miracles. We had 300,000 refugees in the camps and there are only 70,000 refugees remaining and out of those 70,000, some are refusing to go back.
There is a land area of 255 sq.kilo metres which needs to be de-mined. And once that process is complete, the resettlement process of the remaining IDPs will commence.
Presenter : Tens of thousands of people are still in camps. Navi Pillai of the UN Human Rights Council said, that I Quote, “ am convinced that Sri Lanka would undertake the full reckoning of the grave violations committed by all sides, no finger pointing thereby all sides
during the war”. Is Sri Lanka prepared to do that?
HE the High Commissioner : You see, you are referring to two sides. You see out of the two sides, one side doesn’t exist. I think this story about this two sides is a red herring. What some people in the western world want is to go after Sri Lanka.
Presenter : There are two sides, there are two sides.
HE the High Commissioner: There aren’t two sides. LTTE doesn’t exist any more. Innocent Tamil people never waged war against the Sri Lankan government. It is only the LTTE and the LTTE is no longer there so there are no two sides. I want you to understand that.
Presenter : Alright let us take it as they were. Well General Fonseka’s supporters, we told our viewers at the beginning of this part of the show what was happening with him and said Court Marshall is politically motivated. His lawyers have challenged the decision in the
Supreme Court. How do you defend the government’s decision to go ahead in trial?.
HE the High Commissioner : You just mentioned that their lawyers had gone to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court will make a determination whether the arrest and submitting General Fonseka to Court Marshall is valid or invalid. Quite apart from all that we have a system in
place. There is an Army Act. He has been accused of transgressing certain provisions in the Army Act. And the government is fully entitled to make an investigation and have him brought before a Court Martial and that is what the Sri Lankan government is doing. And, I have heard a
lot of rhetoric about General Fonseka being brought before a civil court. I want the people who are watching to know, that once the Court Martial comes to its finding, General Fonseka can appeal to the Court of Appeal or can go to the by way of Writ, have the proceedings set aside
or if he is unsuccessful with the Court of Appeal, he can go to the Supreme Court by way of appeal.
Presenter : You made a point and the world would be watching. Let me just put this last point, you heard what the UN said and if counter that charge, an international journalism lobby group says that media workers in Sri Lanka has been living in a climate of fear since the
President’s re-election. Is that something that you recognized, is that something that you heard before?
HE the High Commissioner : No, no that’s totally misplaced. There is absolute media freedom there. There are 35 daily papers, there are so many TV channels, they are all functional and operational. There are tabloids who are attacking the government, who are attacking the
President, who are attacking the President’s family. Recently, a very well recognized western journal, The Times attacked the President’s son. What are we talking about that there is no media freedom?
Presenter : You know absolutely well because it has been very difficult for me in the last few months to actually get visa to get into Sri Lanka and there hasn’t been completely transparent, you and I know but we have got to leave it there. The advertising break is on my
heels. So we do thank you very much indeed for joining us to address some of these concerns.
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