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Pursue complaint against President, Dr. Jayalath tells IPU

Dr. Jayalath Jayawardena, Minister of Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Refugees requested the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) to continue to pursue his complaint against President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga.

Dr. Jayawardena presenting himself at the Committee on Human Rights of Parliamentarians of the based IPU, in Geneva, Switzerland, said the President was directly responsible for the allegations made against him. The allegations exposed him and his family members to many death threats, a release said yesterday.

He stated that the President was the Commander-in-Chief of the Security Forces and recently extended the term of the Commander of the Sri Lanka Army without the consent of the Minister of Defence. The Minister also condemned the President for not taking action to release files, documents and vehicles of the Commissioner-General of the Essential Services to his Ministry, which was under her, during the previous regime.

"Despite repeated requests to the Attorney-General and the Chief Justice, initiating local remedial action against the perpetrators has not been possible, mainly due to the fact that President Kumaratunga still continues as the President with Presidential immunity and the Chief Justice has been appointed by the President", he added.

Dr. Jayawardena also informed the IPU the recent decision taken by the Human Rights Committee of the UN. which concluded that he is entitled to an appropriate remedy, Sri Lanka being a State Party to the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political rights.

The committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians of the IPU decided to continue to pursue the case submitted by him.

Dr. Jayawardena also had discussions at the World Heath Organization (WHO) in Geneva with senior officials.

The discussions were mainly aimed at securing funding to improve the living conditions of over one million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the North and the East on an urgent basis under selected priority areas.

The priority areas are to obtain services of medical and para-medical volunteers from South India to attend to most urgent medical needs of IDPs and those who have already been resettled, to set up mobile clinics to widen the available network of health services and to set up a Policy Formulation Unit under the Ministry of Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Refugees, to give policy guidance to carry out its work in an efficient and creative environment.

During his meeting with Dr. David Nabarro, Executive Director, Sustainable Development and Healthy Environment, the most senior WHO official met by the Minister, the need for WHO's urgent attention to identify funding on an urgent basis for these three priority areas was emphasised.

Dr. Jayawardena thanked WHO on behalf of the Sri Lanka Government for providing assistance to the country. He also expressed his gratitude for WHO's role in facilitating to obtain US$ 9 million for Sri Lanka from the Global Fund to fight Malaria and Tuberculosis.

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