COLOMBO: The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has welcomed the draft of a US-Sri Lanka collaborative resolution on alleged war crimes in Lanka which was tabled at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Thursday.
The TNA said in a statement that it appreciates the Lankan government’s assent to the text which says that the proposed domestic judicial mechanism should also have foreign and Commonwealth judges, lawyers, investigators and defenders.
A court established on these lines will represent a “dramatic break” from the past and could herald the beginning of an end to impunity, the TNA said.
“This constitutes a significant victory for justice in Sri Lanka,” it added.
“The draft resolution was the product of a difficult consensus. We are acutely aware that some of the language used in the interests of a consensus will not satisfy all victims of the conflict whom we represent and who have reposed their trust in the TNA. However, we are of the view that the draft provides a constructive starting point for what will inevitably be a long road to reconciliation. The TNA will support the judicial mechanism,” it assured.
UN To Use Lankan Forces
Meanwhile, the Lankan Foreign Minister, Mangala Samaraweera, said in New York that the draft resolution is an endorsement by the international community’s confidence in the integrity of the Lankan armed forces in as much as it said that a credible inquiry will clear the names of officers who had acted in a professional manner.
“The invitation extended to the Sri Lanka security forces by the UN Peacekeeping Department to increase participation in global UN peacekeeping and the invitation extended to President Sirisena to participate in the Summit on Peace Operations co-chaired by the US President in New York on 28 September are clear examples of this fact,” Samaraweera said.
President Sirisena and Samaraweera are currently in New York for the UN General Assembly session.