Sri Lanka President's tour in Vietnam utilized for anti-US propaganda

(October 20, Colombo - Lanka Polity) This photo published by Sri Lanka's state print media propaganda organ Sunday Observer is clear evidence that the President Mahinda Rajaakse's official tour to Vietnam is aimed at propagating his defying policy towards Western super powers that are questioning the human rights conduct of the country under him.

The caption went as "President Mahinda Rajapaksa observing the photographs of Western war crimes displayed at the Museum of War Remnants in Vietnam during an official visit to the country,"

A 68 page report prepared by the War Crimes office in the State Department and presented to Congress on Thursday lists 170 incidents in Sri Lanka between May 2 and 18. It is based mostly on internal reports to Washington from the US Embassy in Colombo, satellite imagery, international relief organizations and media outlets.The report alleges that thousands of Tamil civilians were gunned down by Tiger guerrillas seeking to use them as human shields or killed in what it calls “indiscriminate government shelling.” Stephen Rapp, the US Ambassador at large for war crimes issues has said that the Government of Sri Lanka should investigate the allegations.

Foreign Ministry Sri Lanka in a quick response said on Thursday that the report “appears to be unsubstantiated and devoid of corroborative evidence.” It accused vested interests of endeavouring to bring the Government of Sri Lanka into disrepute, through “fabricated allegations and concocted stories.”

Western super powers become tough on Sri Lanka

(October 21, Colombo - Lanka Polity) Two Western Super powers have strongly asked Sri Lankahuman rights violations during the last phase of the offensive against the Tami rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elama (LTTE) that the state forces totally annihilated in May 2009 eliminating almost entire leadership. There is wide spread allegations regarding the violations of internatinal human rights covenanats both by state and rebel forces. However, the governemnt of Sri Lanka led by President Mahinda Rajapakse is vehemently against any kind of investigation against its toops despite the region's oldest democracy is losing its reputation and the island is being isolated by its traditional Western alies. to account for the alleged

"Accountability is an essential component of national reconciliation.  The United States looks to the Government of Sri Lanka to identify an appropriate and credible mechanism and initiate a process for accountability," US embassy of Sri Lanka said in a statement issued on October 22 in relation to a report detailing incidents that allegedly occurred during the final months of the conflict between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Tamil rebel iberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam that might constitute violations of international humanitarian law or crimes against humanity and related harms. The United States Department of State delivered the report to Congressional Appropriations Committee staff yesterday. 

The Department of State has prepared the report pursuant to a Congressional request and also provided a copy to the Sri Lankan Embassy. The report compiles alleged incidents, as reported by a wide range of primary and secondary sources, involving both sides in the conflict.  It does not reach any legal or factual conclusions, says the US embassy adding that information concerning the majority of incidents cited in this report has originated in first-hand accounts communicated by persons from within the government-declared No Fire Zones and locations close to the fighting.  

The United States says it "recognizes a state’s inherent right to defend itself from armed attacks, including those by non-state actors, such as a terrorist group like the LTTE.  The United States also expects states and non-state actors to comply with their international legal obligations, including the obligation to protect civilians in armed conflict."

Earlier the UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband and Douglas Alexander, the Secretary of State for the Department for International Development, have urged Sri Lankan authorities to fulfill their human rights obligations in response to the findings of a recent EU report on the issue. They said:

'The European Commission’s report on Sri Lanka’s implementation of international human rights conventions raised serious concerns, which we shared."

The report highlighted failings in Sri Lanka’s implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The report is a precursor to the Commission’s recommendation to EU Member States on whether Sri Lanka should continue to benefit from the GSP+ trade preference scheme. "We are clear that to do so Sri Lanka must respect its international human rights obligations under GSP+.We strongly urge the Government of Sri Lanka to take immediate action to address the issues outlined in this report," said the UK officials.