COLOMBO: The Northern Provincial Council (NPC) which is dominated by the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has passed a resolution calling upon the Government of Sri Lanka to cooperate with the inquiry into war crimes and human rights violation charges now being conducted by the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
The resolution, which was passed on September 10, said: “This Council calls upon the Government of Sri Lanka to cooperate with the UN and allow the UN’s OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka team to enter the country to perform its mandate of comprehensively investigating the alleged serious violations and abuses of human rights, and crimes,” the resolution said.
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) will meet next week and discuss the resolution adopted by the NPC, SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena has said.
All Provincial Councils are bound by the constitution of Sri Lanka and they cannot go against it when adopting resolutions, he contended.
Sri Lanka has told the UN that the resolution passed by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) calling for an OHCHR investigation is biased and is tantamount to interfering in the internal affairs of a sovereign state.
The Sri Lankan government has said that it will not allow the UN inquiry team to visit the island to conduct investigations.
It has also said that it will take action against those who testify before the UN panel.