Parliamentarians and Provincial Councillors of TNA’s constituent parties met in Vavunia yesterday presided over by TNA leader R. Sampanthan and decided to demand for full implementation of the Geneva Resolution 30/1 which meant giving more time for the Government to fulfill its promises.
The EPRLF however, had opposed saying that the party will distance itself from yesterday’s agreement.At a meeting held at the Vanni Inn TNA’s people’s representatives, including provincial councilors of Eastern and Northern provinces, concluded that they should demand the Human Rights Council that the Sri Lankan Tamils would be allowed to reap full benefits of the resolution 30/1 if the Government backtracks in its pledges.
The resolution passed in Geneva in 2015 calls for a hybrid court with international judges and prosecutors as a remedy for a credible transitional justice process to probe allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity against Sri Lanka.
“We agreed that the full implementation of the resolution should be tied to a time bound agenda and a UN Human Rights country office should be established to monitor the progress,” TNA spokesperson M.A.Sumanthiran said.
However, President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe have dismissed the prospect of having foreign participation in the transitional justice mechanism.
The latest report by the Human Rights High commissioner Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Sri Lanka have also underlined the need to have foreign involvement. His report is to be taken up on March 22 at the ongoing HRC sessions.
The TNA meeting was attended by 46 representatives and the opposing views of the EPRLF, a stand upheld by TNA rebel Suresh Premachandran, was conveyed to the meeting by MP Sivasakthy Ananthan.
The Sri Lankan government has requested two more years to fully implement the resolution 30/1 which it co-sponsored with US, UK and others. A follow up resolution to grant the government more time allegedly with tough bail out conditions is currently being drafted with the UK leading the process.
Sri Lanka is said to be banking on India and its other friends in the HRC to soften the tone and language of the resolution. Meanwhile, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Minister Mangala Samaraweera will not return to Geneva on March 22 to take part in the Human Rights sessions when Prince Zeid’s report and the follow up resolution on Sri Lanka will be taken up for discussion. Instead he will accompany the President on his State visit to Russia from March 22 to 25.