by

Zacki Jabbar

Ranil Wickremesinghe

Having supported the establishment of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in 2006, with a mandate to examine, monitor and publicly report on human rights situations in member countries, the Mahinda Rajapaksa government was now looking for scapegoats, UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday.

It was the current crop of leaders who had gone to the UN in 2006 and backed a resolution which not only installed the UNHRC as a replacement for the UNCHR, but also endorsed the role to be played by Non-Governmental Organisations in promoting and protecting human rights, the UNP leader said, addressing party activists at Sirikotha.

The UNHRC has been mandated to examine, monitor and publicly report on human rights situations in specific countries or territories, as well as on major phenomena of human rights violations worldwide.

Wickremesinghe noted that during his tenure as Prime Minister he had refused to sign the Convention on War Crimes and his action had helped the country immensely, though he was accused time and again of being a traitor.

“I was criticized by sections of the international community for not endorsing the Convention on War Crimes. But, I explained to them that it was not fair to subject a country that was engaged in a long drawn out civil war to such stipulations,” he observed.

The UNP leader said that it was the present crop of rulers who had placed Sri Lanka and its security forces in a precarious situation. They said one thing to the superpowers and uttered the exact opposite at home. He would not be surprised if some Minister blamed the UNP for their short-sighted policies which had resulted in the country being repeatedly humiliated and insulted internationally.

The government had dug its own grave and was accusing everyone except itself for its stupidity. Having requested the UNHRC for time to implement its very own Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission recommendations, it was now looking for scapegoats and exit mechanisms by blaming the Opposition, he noted.

Wickremesinghe said that the Opposition was not interested in Arab Springs and relied only on free and fair elections where the people could express their preferences.

An atmosphere had to be created for all communities to live in peace and harmony. The burning question was whether the forthcoming Sinhala and Tamil New Year could be celebrated in an atmosphere of brotherhood, the UNP leader said.

COURTESY:THE ISLAND