Navaneetham Pillai. the Human Rights Commissioner, after a visit to Sri Lanka to study the ground realities post Civil War, Post-LTTE era.
Her Press briefing on 31 August , 2012 was candid to such an extent that the Sri Lanka Government was forced to protest that she exceeded her brief.
She was earlier abused by the Government and the Sri Lanka Media , calling her ‘Tamil Tigress‘, accusing her of bias, raking her Tamil origins.
Story:
Sri Lanka refutes:
”
Issuing a statement, the Govt information department says that she is only an agent of a Civil organization, hence she cannot make such statements regarding Sri Lanka.
Govt has issued this statement with regards to the statements made by Ms. Navi Pillay at the media meeting held on the 31st in Colombo, in conclusion of her week’s tour in Sri Lanka.
The complete statement is as follows..
President Rajapakshe apologised for his minister’s out burst against her earlier.
Her report, as stated by her in the Press Meet , in short, is as under.
1.Developmental activities. post the civil war , is sluggish and definitely not as it had been portrayed by the Government of Sri Lanka.
2.The Missing Persons of Tamil area are not being investigated.
3.Tamil women are being molested and no visible action.
3.The Military, even after four years of the conflict coming to a close, still has an iron grip, on the Tamil areas, hampering return of Normalcy.
The presence of Military in the North East is worrying.
4.The Military is controlling areas where it has no business, like Education, Agriculture.
5.The Military is grabbing private Tamil lands for converting them into barracks, with no compensation.
6.Systematic racist attacks are being carried out against Tamils and Muslims.
As a parting shot, she said,
““I am deeply concerned that Sri Lanka, despite the opportunity provided by the end of the war to construct a new vibrant, all-embracing state, is showing signs of heading in an increasingly authoritarian direction,” Pillai said, a remark that was to be broadcast around the world in minutes.”
Well, that’s pretty candid and accuses Sri Lanka, in real softer terms, its Genocidal and Ethnic cleansing Policies!
Sri Lanka Refutes:
”
On the opening remarks by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms Navanetham Pillay at the Press Conference on 31 August, 2013
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Ms Navanetham Pillay was on a week-long visit to Sri Lanka on an invitation extended by the Government of Sri Lanka in April 2011. This invitation is a part of Sri Lanka’s consistent engagement with the UN System.
As is well known, the High Commissioner’s visit to Sri Lanka was extensive, which she herself has described, as the longest ever country visit undertaken in her current position. The GOSL provided unfettered access for the High Commissioner to meet all those whom she sought to engage with, besides providing briefings on the part of the GOSL, on the continuing post conflict developments, a fact that she has acknowledged.
It is significant to note the High Commissioner’s acknowledgement of the true nature of the LTTE, and her call to those in the diaspora, who continue to revere the memory of the LTTE, to recognize that there should be no place for the glorification of such a ruthless Organization.
While noting that the High Commissioner has paid respects “to all Sri Lankans across the country who were killed during those three decades of conflict”, a disturbing fact that emerged during the visit, which had also come up during her media conference, was the surreptitious effort made by the visiting delegation to pay a floral tribute during the visit to Mullivaikkal. It was pointed out by the Sri Lankan side to the OHCHR delegation that if such a gesture needed to be made it should be done at a venue common to all victims of the 30 year terrorist conflict and not on the grounds where the LTTE leader met his death. It is significant that at no point of time during the discussions in formulating the High Commissioner’s programme, that the holding of such an event was indicated. This was brought to the attention of the Government side, only a few hours before the unilaterally scheduled event. On inquiry it became evident that the UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, who represents the UN Secretary General, was unaware of this planned event.
With reference to the High Commissioner’s assertion that the new Ministry of Law and Order “is at best a partial separation as both Ministries will remain under the President, rather than under a separate civilian Ministry”
Now read the UN commissioner:
Reprisals
The fact that the remarks were addressed to Pillay while she was on a high level diplomatic mission on the explicit invitation of the Government was extraordinary. But more extraordinary, for the visiting UN Rights Chief was the fact that persons who had made representations during her tours of the former conflict zones had been visited by police and military officials. “This to me is just completely over the top – this kind of thing simply does not happen on my missions,” Pillay charged during the question and answer session. “The UN takes reprisals against those who speak with UN officials very seriously. I will be reporting on any reprisals against those who spoke with me back to the Human Rights Council,” she warned.
On every critical issue falling within her mandate the UN Envoy pulled no punches. She had her own assessment on virtually every current challenge to democracy and freedom in post-war Sri Lanka. “The war may have ended, but in the meantime democracy has been undermined and the rule of law eroded,” she said, reading from one of the more electrifying sections of her statement.
On the hot button issue of religious intolerance, with attacks against the Muslim community intensifying in the last few months, the UN Envoy said the Government had downplayed the issue. “They said it was an isolated incident, but the information pouring into my office indicates otherwise,” she said.
Disappearances being the overarching theme of her visit, Pillay told journalists after her briefing that she had never witnessed such uncontrollable grief as when people begged her to help bring their loved ones home.
“The fighting may be over, the suffering is not,” the UN Human Rights Chief said, as she prepared to leave Sri Lanka.
The High Commissioner took great pains to address repeated questions on alleged UN bias put to her by the state media during the briefing. She urged journalists to “read the published material” to learn how vocal her office was being about human rights issues around the world, including those violations committed by powerful countries. “Sri Lanka is one of 193 states reviewed by the UNHRC. The US in its review had almost 300 recommendations made to them by other states,” Pillay explained.
She added that UN independent experts were currently examining Extraordinary Rendition procedures, the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and drone strikes against civilians in Afghanistan and Pakistan – all violations Washington has been accused of by human rights activists.
http://dbsjeyaraj.com/dbsj/archives/25159
See more gruesome Images at.
http://ramanisblog.in/2013/03/29/rape-of-tamil-women-in-sri-lanka-photos/
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