Parliament

Order under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance:

'Ordinance to be presented after amendments'

Sandasen MARASINGHE and Disna MUDALIGE

Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa presided when Parliament met at 1.30pm yesterday. After the presentation of papers and oral questions, the Speaker informed Wildlife and Agrarian Services Minister S M Chandrasena to move the orders of the day.

Wildlife and Agrarian Services Minister S M Chandrasena:

We have decided not to present the order under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance for debate today. Environment Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa has requested for the addition of several amendments before it was presented for the approval of the House.

Therefore, after making these amendments, it would be presented for the approval of the House on another date.

Thereafter the Speaker called the name of UNP MP Ajith P Perera to move the adjournment motion. At this point, Water Supply and Drainage Minister and Chief Government Whip Dinesh Gunawardena raising a point of order, said that the adjournment motion, which refers to the murder of two Buddhist monks at a historical temple in Kotte, should not be permitted to be debated, since its contents violated the subjudice rule. He said that a court case had been filed in the Nugegoda Magistrate's Court in this regard.

The Speaker requested MP Ajith P Perera to make the necessary amendments to the Adjournment motion, to avoid any inconsistency with Standing Orders and present it on another date for debate.

Parliamentary sittings curtailed

Parliament sittings were limited to one hour and twenty minutes yesterday, since the Order under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance and the Adjournment motion, which was scheduled for debate, were not taken up.

Thereafter, the House was adjourned around 2.45 pm and the Speaker called for the adjournment motion to be moved.

The House was adjourned until 9.30am on March 30.

'Govt will not entertain advice, interference'

Sandasen MARASINGHE and Disna MUDALIGE

External Affairs Acting Minister DEW Gunasekera, yesterday stated that the government would evolve home grown solutions acceptable to all citizens of the country within a practically possible time, given the nature and complexity of issues at hand, but would not entertain alien quick fixes.

He made this observation yesterday in a special statement in Parliament.

The Acting Minister further stated that it has been witnessed elsewhere in contemporary humanitarian emergencies, how such attempts had led to invariable failures and further chaos.

He said that just as the country was determined to free itself from the clutches of terrorists, the government would take all feasible actions within a practically possible time, given the nature and complexity of the issues.

Acting Minister Gunasekera further stated that the government would not under any circumstances, allow others to impose on the country their advices or solutions, adding that it was what the International Community has agreed to adhere to, when they established the Human Rights Council in 2006 to respect the consent of the country concerned and to consult it when providing technical assistance and advice.

Concerted efforts for peace

The Acting Minister further stated that the concerted efforts to bring peace dividends to the grassroots and in re-establishing the livelihood and normalcy in the conflict affected areas within a short period of three years, had begun to bear fruit. He added that it was this sense of practical reality that motivated the government to do what was right for the country and the people, amidst outside interferences, unfair and undue pressures exerted by some countries. He added that the government had also invited the High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit Sri Lanka to ascertain the development for herself.

He also said the decisions of the Council has provided credence that even genuine efforts by the Sri Lankan government had not been recognized. Some countries who had urged Sri Lanka to implement the LLRC recommendations, were among those relentlessly criticized of it when the government commissioned it.

Minister DEW Gunasekera further stated that irrespective of the decision that emanated from Geneva, we would not let this country rollback to the era of terrorism that devastated the entire country. He also stated that by defeating terrorism, the government had protected the right to life for every one - one of the foremost human rights for any living being.

He also said that the action taken by the Council would not prevent us continuing our relations even with those who were unable to support us.

The full statement:

"The priorities and principal aims setforth by the government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa for the country and her people, for the new era that has dawned since the end of the 30-year long brutal terrorist conflict has been very clearly and sincerely expressed to this august House, in particular, in December last year, when we presented the outcome of the domestic mechanism for reconciliation - the LLRC. It is with deep satisfaction that we witness today, within a short span of less than three years, that our considered efforts to bring the peace dividends to the grassroots and in reestablishing the livelihood and normalcy in the conflict affected areas has begun to bear fruit. It is this sense of practical reality that motivates us to do what is right for the country and our people, amidst outside interferences, unfair and undue pressures exerted by some countries.

"As a responsible partner and a founding member of the Human Rights Council that has contributed to the institutional building mechanism of the Council during its formative years, Sri Lanka, while making clear and definite steps towards peace, development and reconciliation, made conceivable efforts to engage with rest of the world, especially through the Human Rights Council, to brief and apprise those who have expressed concerns on the Sri Lanka situation. We have extended an invitation to the High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit Sri Lanka, to see the developments for herself.

Govt not recognized

"However, the decision of the Council taken yesterday on Sri Lanka, provides credence to the fact that even genuine efforts by the government had not been recognized. The same countries that approved action, urging Sri Lanka to implement the LLRC recommendations, were among those that relentlessly criticized the LLRC, when the government commissioned it. Analyzing the range of opinion expressed internationally on the LLRC Report, it was evident that some consider that it has gone further than envisaged, as expected, others regret that it has not gone far enough.

"The Council, by its action, has countered the cardinal principle of international law that domestic remedies must be exhausted and should be the first resort, prior to invoking intervention by external mechanisms. Moreover, it sets a negative precedent, for any country that thinks that might is right, to reopen any of the previous decisions of the Council for collateral purposes. Prejudging the efforts of a sovereign and independent Member State of the International Community by way of such action, will wittingly or unwittingly, subscribe to the efforts and agenda of the terrorist rump to derail the delicate peace and reconciliation efforts in the country.

"Irrespective of the decisions that emanated from Geneva, what is crystal clear is that, we will not let this country rollback to the era of terrorism that devastated the entire country, eluding it from harnessing the fullest benefits from its natural strengths and in particular, the unique calibre of its human resources. By defeating terrorism, we have now protected the right to life for every person - one of the foremost human rights for any living being. The people of this country representing all walks of life, irrespective of cast, creed and ethnicity, that rallied to express their protests and dismay on the unwarranted action by the Council, amply demonstrate their will to stand by the country and its democratically elected government to defend their right to freedom from terrorism. The challenges in front of us today, is expediting our action in consolidation of this hard-gained peace in achieving peace that is stable and sustainable. It is in this spirit that the government has genuinely embarked upon a reconciliation process addressing issues related to economic development, rehabilitation and resettlement, livelihood development as well as redressing the agony and sufferings of people who lost their loved ones due to terrorism.

"We are not surprised by the move of certain Member States, for their actions yesterday, against Sri Lanka in the 19th Session of the UN Human Rights Council. When Sri Lanka made headway in ending terrorism in May 2009, we were confronted with similar efforts to cease the humanitarian operations to give a fresh lease of life to the terrorists. I must reiterate that we have always been open to constructive engagement, but will not cave in to unreasonable demands. It is in this context that we sincerely appreciate our friends who understood Sri Lanka's position and stood by us at the time of need and we thank them.

"We are mindful of certain domestic compulsions that forced some of our neighbours and traditional friends to act in the way they did. However, such reactions will not strain our long established relations with them. The action by the Council will not prevent us continuing our relations and engagements with countries, even with those who could not support us. As we have done in the past, especially in trying times of our nation, we will open our doors for assistance as and when we feel they are essential and when a situation is beyond our capacity to handle alone. We will not, under any circumstances, allow others to impose on us their advices or solutions. This is what the international community has agreed to adhere to, when they established the Human Rights Council in 2006 - to respect the consent of the country concerned and to consult it when providing technical assistance and advice.

"It is a matter of great satisfaction to us that 15 countries voted with Sri Lanka, despite the intensity of pressure in a variety of forms, exerted on them all. 8 countries by abstaining, declined to support the Resolution.

"With 15 countries voting with Sri Lanka and eight countries abstaining, the final result was that 23 countries out of a total of 47 members of the Human Rights Council, did not support the Resolution, while 24 supported it. The margin was as narrow as this.

"The most distressing feature of this experience is the obvious reality that voting at the Human Rights Council is now determined not by the merits of a particular issue, but by strategic alliances and domestic political issues in other countries which have nothing to do with the subject matter of a resolution or the best interests of the country to which the resolution relates. This is a cynical negation of the purposes for which the Human Rights Council was established.

"Many countries which voted with Sri Lanka were acutely conscious of the dangers of setting a precedent which enables adhoc intervention by powerful countries in the internal affairs of other sovereign nations. This is a highly selective and an arbitrary process not governed by objective norms or criteria of any kind. The implications of this were not lost on many countries.

"As far as Sri Lanka is concerned, our policy in respect of all matters will continue to be guided by the vital interests and wellbeing of the people of our country. It hardly requires emphasis that this cannot yield place to any other consideration.

Home-grown solutions

"Just as we were determined to free the country from the clutches of terrorists, we will take all feasible action, within the practically possible time, given the nature and the complexity of issues at hand. One could no doubt agree that it is the government of Sri Lanka which is best placed in evolving a home-grown solution acceptable to all the citizens of the country. We will therefore not entertain alien quick fixes.

We have witnessed elsewhere in contemporary humanitarian emergencies, how such attempts have led to invariable failures and further chaos.

"It is therefore, the time for rising above all differences, political affiliations and ethnic or religious alliances. It is upto us, all the Members of this House to decide as legislators and firstly as citizens who love this country, to seize this opportunity, indeed the historic opportunity to work with a sense of togetherness, towards a new Sri Lanka, which can be the 'Wonder of Asia,' the minister concluded.

Leadership training programme to continue - Higher Education Minister

Higher Education Minister S B Dissanayake, yesterday stated in Parliament that the leadership training programme for university entrants, would be carried forward strongly by identifying and rectifying its loopholes.

The minister observed that the programme had been a success, which had been a long overdue initiative.

Responding to a question raised by UNP MP Dayasiri Jayasekera, the minister stated that 553 students had fallen ill during the leadership training.

He stated that 294 students had been down with fever, while 231 had been down with minor illnesses or injuries.