NAM strongly condemns UN Chief
Nadira GUNATILLEKE
The NAM has very strongly condemned the announced intention of UN
Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to appoint a Panel of Experts to advise on
accountability issues relating to Sri Lanka, said Disaster Management
and Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe.
Speaking at a press conference at the Government Information
Department yesterday, Samarasinghe said the Non Aligned Movement (NAM)
has a membership of 124 countries. All NAM members are also members of
the United Nations.
The UN has 194 member states. Minister Samarasinghe further said that
nearly two thirds of both the NAM and UN supports Sri Lanka.
The Government is about to obtain a two thirds majority in
Parliament. The Sri Lankan Government has already obtained two thirds
majority in the United Nations and in the Non Aligned Movement,
Samarasinghe said.
According to Minister Samarasinghe President Mahinda Rajapaksa has
already decided to appoint a special committee to address accountability
issues, to find out why and how the terrorism started to arise in Sri
Lanka, future possibilities of raising terrorism etc. This committee
will consider the period from 1975 when the former MP and Jaffna Mayor
Alfred Duraiappah was murdered and will end at present (2010).
The mandate of the six member committee appointed by President
Rajapaksa to probe incidents mentioned in the State Department Report
has been extended till April. Although there is no legal base for the
State Department Report, the President appointed the committee in order
to ensure the transparency and accountability.
Minister Samarasinghe said that the main intention of the President
and the Government is establishing reconciliation and development
uniting all ethnicities in the country and walk towards a bright and
prosperous future.
The Government has no intention whatsoever to walk back to the
political and economical instability which affected Sri Lanka for 30
years.
The National Action Plan to protect Human Rights will be presented to
Cabinet shortly and thereafter it will be forwarded to the EU and other
relevant International bodies. The Government commenced to formulate
this time bound National Action Plan (for five years) one and half years
ago.
It is because the Government strongly believes the importance of
protecting human rights. Sri Lanka does not need an imported solution'
for the ethnic conflict.
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