AI to GoSL: ‘Make human rights the priority’
February 16th, 2008
Amnesty International today called on the Sri Lanka government to make human rights the priority by allowing the organisation into the country to make an impartial assessment of its and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) human rights record, following accusations from Defence spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella that the organisation was biased against the government.
[Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International]
“Amnesty International’s role is to monitor and report on human rights abuses by all parties to the conflict. The organisation has repeatedly requested that the government should facilitate this role by allowing us access to the country,” said Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International.
Amnesty International also rejected claims by the Defence spokesman that it had failed “to utter a single word’ against recent bomb attacks. In the last month alone the organisation made several statements condemning the targeting of civilians including one on 4th February 2008 entitled: Sri Lanka: Right to life of civilians disregarded as conflict intensifies.
“The situation in Sri Lanka has deteriorated and both the government and the LTTE stand accused of serious human rights abuses. All parties should immediately stop targeting civilians and uphold their commitments to international human rights law,” she said.
The rule of law continues to be undermined and the culture of impunity persists. The government must make protection of human rights the top priority. Instead, human rights defenders have also been increasingly attacked or threatened. At such a time attacking the messenger distracts from the overriding responsibility for serious action to address the problem.
Entry Filed under: Press Statement
14 Comments Add your own
1. London Tamil | February 16th, 2008 at 10:05 am
Sri Lankan government does not know what human rights is. All they know is murder, pillage, using civilians as human shields, confiscating land and property. They been doing this continuosly since 1956. Is AI and rest of the world sleeping?
2. Dayan | February 16th, 2008 at 10:29 am
GOSL should understand the basic criteria for democratically elected government to protect its civilians with out race or religion etc.
It is the GOSL’s duty to protect Tamil civilians from the Air attacks in the North and East and the road side bombing to target the Sinhala civilians. GOSL has failed to protect both communities by encouraging the human Rights violations against it’s own citizens and voluntarily abrogating the CFA.
If GOSL fail to govern the country in a democratic way, the situation allow the International organisations and other Governments to take measures to protect the citizens of Sri Lanka. This is not avoidable in the long term.
Sri Lankan minister expecting the International organisations to condemn the LTTE for their involment in the Human Rights violations. This is not acceptable to International Human Rights Law.
3. ilaya seran senguttuven | February 16th, 2008 at 11:00 am
Dear Irene,
Anyone not agreeing with the propagators of the Chintanaya is either a Tiger (White, Green, Red - chose your colour) or a traitor against the most pristine form of Buddhism in the world,
practised by the JHU and fellow travellers. The Chintanaya and its leader knows what is good for the Sri Lankan people and
anyone who disagrees has a sinister motive backed by the
international community to impose R2P here. So be careful in what you say or write.
4. Thamil | February 16th, 2008 at 11:30 am
Here we go, the amnesty international is under attack again by Keheliya, what is happening, no world organisation or governments, in that matter spared the aggression from these bunch of thugs.
They live in the world of Stone Age, thinking nobody knows, what kind of treatment Tamils are getting in the hands of the draconian sinhala regime.
World and the NGOS, how long you are going to let these thugs continue with the elimination of an ethnic indigenous minority?
Real economic sanctions and travel ban on the military and politician can pave the way for any progress.
5. A.Rajasingam | February 16th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Sri Lankan political leaders have not proved that they are Statesman to date. Their hands are stained with blood. As a responsible President, his Military Advisors should be aware of the role of Amnesty International and should emphasize on the establishment of Rehabilitation Centres of accommodating the IDPs when waging a war against the terrorists. Indiscriminate bombing on innocent civilians is not the answer though the LTTE utilizes the Tamils in North-East Province as their shield. Earlier JRJ also said that if there is a war let there be a war. People are aware when President Mahinda Rajapakse was protesting on the streets against the presence of the IPKF and supported Premadasa. Now he blames Premadasa for sending the IPKF. It appears that President is changing colours instead of pronouncing the available solution of Federalism. Federalism is a way of life and not separation. This is how they can give priority to human rights. Continuous call of the outdated concept of settling within a Unitary State will ultimately end in committing war crimes. The situation in Kosova is a reminder.
6. david | February 16th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
No where in the world a goverment indiscriminately bombs its population causing thousands of civilian deaths and displacements resulting in refugees fleeing out of the country. Of course the victims belong to minority Tamil ethnic group. If this not genocide then what is genocide? As if bombing is not enough goverment paramilitaries abduct and kill through out the curfew hours in Jaffna and the East. If the Sinhalese people think this is an “internal problem” and try to sweep it under the rug,they a dead wrong. They have to answer the world for atrocities against humanity.
7. Subra S.Massey | February 16th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
Dear Madam / Sir,
Our nation of Sri Lanka is very religious country. All religions tell us to love each other, then why this nation has become so brutal? Why do we hate each other so much? Is it fear or scarcity? Is it ignorance? I think it is all of the above.
Not only people of Sri Lanka, but any human being will resort to violence once they are left out of control.
As one Police Officer told me they are the garbage bags and the people are the garbage. They hold them under control. Therefore the people in power and in the security must be carefully chosen and trained to
uphold the law of the land. To them there is no colour, race, sex, age and language barriers. They are trained to look beyond these features for in the eye of the law we are all equal. Being equal in the eye of the law is what hold us together as one society. That is why we say no one is above the law, for when some one takes the law into his or her hand then we all have the right to take the law into our own hands and do what looks justifiable to us. This is the fundamental principle on which the modern society is built on. If we make no one above the law then the law becomes the supreme power. When I apply the supreme power instead of my own judgement I gain more power and an equitable verdict. This is done by the judiciary. We as people legislate and then allow the judiciary to hear and make a verdict. Though not a leak proof system, it is better than not having any system at all or having two of us as two judges and two plaintiffs. I find you guilty and you find me guily and only punishment is we beat up each other. LIke animals in the jungle.
Urban animals do not fight they play with each other.
So it is the duty of the elected government to uphold the law, but in Sri Lanka the government is the biggest sponsorer of terrorism, though the UN does not want to admit it in public, in private meetings it is said that it is the SL govt that is encouraging “Jungle Mentality”
But then that is the government elected by the people.
And elected members are also people among the people. Then it is the people who are the cause of the human rights violations. As I previoulsy wrote in an article called ” Is Democracy ready for Sri Lanka”?, we are not ready for democracy. Then what are our choices?
We had the Europeans kept us under control for 500 years and tried to train us in democracy but it failed in 60 years. Now we have invited India to help us so the adminsitration will listen to the Indians. Basically and slowly the indains will take over the country. They should in their own interest and in our own interest must take over the country and as usual put the minority in charge of the administration ( An administrative tactics).
This is what the majority Singhalese are asking for and working towards for. Now the Singhalese are happy that the Tamils are under control ( at least they beleive) and they have got a master over their head. Well we are not used to equality living but happy with master-servant relationship. so we live happily ever after.
CAN I TELL YOU PERSONAL OPINION. DEMOCRACY IS NOT SUITABLE FOR SRI LANKA.
This a challange I am throwing at all Sri Lankan and I am ready to debate this subject that ” if Democracy is ready for Sri Lanka”. It is debate that will bring sanity into our heads.
Another solution is let us give them more arms and deadly arms so that they will kill each other and the country will get rid of the extremist in both sides.
Guys choose one of the above because you guys are not ready for democracy.
So we have three choices
1. Hand over the administartion to a foreign country.
2. Kill each other
3. Democracy.
I am waiting to see what kind of backlash i am going to get.
8. Gamini | February 17th, 2008 at 6:53 am
I think all reasonable people will concede that Sri Lanka of late has significantly let down its standards in respect of human rights and the government must do a lot more to improve this problem in spite of the grave threat posed by the terrorists.
However it should be noted that Irene Khan & AI have some very high standards and has made some outrageous statements in the past. For example she has equated former Australian PM john Howard with Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/howard-is-just-like-mugabe/2007/05/24/1179601522501.html
In fact AI have sent open letters to every leader of the free world (Putin, Bush, Castro, Blair, Ohlmert, Singh etc etc) expressing it’s outrage at something or rather.
It seems AI lost it’s credibility with these nations sometime ago and it’s only the poor nations such as Sri Lanka who even try to defend itself while the rich nations give these letters their due respect and tear them up and throw them in the trash can.
9. Devinda Fernando | February 17th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Amenest International…. what a JOKE!
The bleeding hearts of the world who lack perspective and Big Picture thinking in conflicts. “Cry for the dead but dont question the reasons or put forth solutions for the situation.” that seems to be their motto.
What should we do Amnesty International? Stop the War so your Air Conditioned Pajeros can Waltz right in to take inventory of a situation? War and lack of Human rights go hand in hand, one is not mutually exclusive of the other. When will these Half-Wits get it?
10. Raj | February 17th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
In 2006 AI made more reports aginst Israel than against Sudan, in 2008 the target is Sri Lanka.
AI are run by bleeding hearts in NY/London who think suicde bombing is legitimate response to political grievences.
11. Naga UK | February 18th, 2008 at 5:18 am
David F is the perfect picture of the SL psyche. A muslim friend of mine once described their tenet as “pauperism”. Asked to explain, he said that they are torn between two strong forces - the maithree, karuna and nirvana (giving up all worldly things and achieve a peaceful state) and the genetic gift of plundering. Both forces surface in the personality from time to time singly or in combination as a result of which they are confused!
12. Justin | February 19th, 2008 at 9:01 am
if the statement “war and lack of human rights go hand in hand” is true then counties that prefer human rights above everything will avoid war.
The Government of Sri Lanka knows this truth but it helps itself with the excuse to murder ethnic Tamils and carry out genocide.
AI knows full well that war is only an excuse by the Sinhalese governments to carry out gross human rights violations. No soldiers are apprehended and brought to justice because they are Sinhalese.
AI should stop its rhetoric and go into action. It should move forward to frame charges against Mahinda Rajapakse and Sarath Fonseka for war crimes committed in the North East.
It is then and only then the human rights violations in the island could be brought under control.
13. Devinda Fernando | February 19th, 2008 at 10:39 am
*** No where in the world a goverment indiscriminately bombs its population causing thousands of civilian deaths and displacements resulting in refugees fleeing out of the country ***
David,
You make generalizations that are Catergorically FALSE…. Then you draw conclusions based on such Baseless allegations to use labels like “Genocide”
SHAME ON YOU.
The Sri Lankan Airforce does not Indiscriminately bomb civilians… You know it and so does everyone else… Bombing is done in a highly strategic and surgical way,.. Based on Ground intelligence and visual intel. There are 600,000+ people in the North (estimated) if the Air Force was indiscriminately bombing them then there would be very few left…
Sometimes there are Air Raids and Strikes that are called off and not even contemplated because Collateral Damage would be too high, even though we know we could have hit a High Value Target (Like Prabharkaran and Pottu Amman at Thamilchelvan’s Funeral) .
Its amazing that no one holds a Half-Wit like you responsible for False Accusations against our country.
Then yu
14. sam | February 20th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
David:
Your tongue in cheek accusation is good for those in the gallery waiting to pounce on bit of information to justify the dollar wads they consume.
So, keep feeding the Amnesty International who scavenge for half baked distortions.
AI need to focus on Burma and the detention of Ayung Suuki.
But AI dare not as the big Western & Pro Western powers have dumped their money in Burma.
All that AI does is spend some money from the AI (HK) to print some post cards and to mail and lead the hongkies astray.
AI is all but an eye wash full of double standards and hidden agenda.
Sri Lanka does not need your instructions. AI can bark to justify any funds they receive from the ltte sympathysers in the UK to impress them.
AI is an empty vessel.
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