Minister G. L. Peiris in Interview with Hindustani
Times :
DELHI SHOULD SUPPORT LANKA IN SELF-INTEREST
* HR allegations vicious
political campaign
* Proof exists of foreign MPs
hostile to SL taking on paid jobs with LTTE friendly groups
* Local Tamil MPs threatened by
pro-Tiger elements in diaspora
External Affairs Minister Prof. G L. Peiris says it is in India’s
interest to ensure that there is a “stable, long-lasting settlement” to
the Tamil issue in Sri Lanka. “Allegations of war crimes and Tamils
being harassed are untrue and part of a vicious political campaign,”
Peiris told Padma Rao Sundarji of the Hindustani Times in an interview.
Minister Peiris said India has seen and made an immense contribution in
the North.
“We believe, therefore, that she has a moral responsibility to
support Lanka.
It is in her interest, no less than in ours, to ensure that there is
a stable, long-lasting settlement. To do anything that would polarise an
already complex situation would be a mistake.”
Asked what is Colombo doing to convince countries not to support a
tough resolution by the US
at the UNHRC to make Sri Lanka culpable of human rights violations
during the war against the LTTE. Minister Peiris said ; “Not everyone is
pursuing Lanka.
I just returned from Japan. Officials there are amazed at the
progress within just three years since the end of war.
Thousands of Tamils, including 595 child soldiers, have been
reintegrated, demining is almost complete.
In how many countries of former conflict - many of whom are
supporting the US resolution - have you seen such speedy work? On the
allegations of Human rights violations Prof. Peiris said that this was a
vicious political campaign.
The war is over, but for those who funded and nurtured the Tigers,
only the modality has changed, not the objective.
“We have evidence of threatening letters written by such overseas
Tamils to their local MPs.
We have proof of foreign MPs who repeatedly attacked us, taking on
paid jobs with LTTE-friendly groups after their term.
The diaspora also commands a media network. Those ‘missing’
journalists showed up in other countries. Cases of alleged abuse that
HRW gave us in Japan turned out to be uncorroborated applications for
asylum.
QUESTION: What about the latest Channel 4 footage showing
Prabhakaran’s dead son? Your military authorities are reportedly
examining it. So is it authentic after all?
ANSWER: We have never refused to examine any new material brought up,
eventhough our past experience shows that these videos were fakes. But
why is it that Channel 4 material invariably surfaces on the eve of
events like the UNHRC session?
If you have incriminating material, why not put it all up? Why in
instalments? Is it admissible for an independent body like the UN to
screen a film by a private party and accept it as evidence without
conducting its own forensic investigation?
Definitely not. The UN is supposed to be an impartial body.
UNHRC chief Navanetham Pillai called for a probe into human rights
violations by our Army a week after the war ended. What evidence could
she have possibly gathered within seven days? We invited her to Lanka
two years ago to assess the situation herself. She laid some conditions
- which we fulfilled - and promised to come. We are still waiting.
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