No R2P situation in Sri Lanka  

- SCOPP Head contradicts Gareth Evans

[Thursday, August 02, 2007 - 8.50 GMT]

Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha, Head of the Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP) in a statement clarifying issues raised by Gareth Evans, CEO of the International Crisis group (ICG) at the Neelan Tiruchelvam Memorial lecture contradicts the latter’s claim that there is a R2P situation in Sri Lanka.
  
None of the factors necessitating intervention by the international community under the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) concept as described by Evans himself, viz., genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes and crimes against humanity or other similar mass atrocity crimes exist in Sri Lanka, the Professor explains.
  
“To talk of potential genocide or an apprehended threat of genocide in Sri Lanka is excessively alarmist.
  
Secondly, there is the question of ethnic cleansing. This has never taken place in Sri Lanka, except when the LTTE drove Muslims and Sinhalese out of the Northern Province in 1990. Bandying the word about loosely is most irresponsible,” the SCOPP statement says.
  
“It is depressing that he (Evans) so forcefully equates Sri Lanka, even if only in terms of potentiality, with other countries where genocide etc have patently occurred. This approach contributes to an erosion of confidence in the objectivity, consistency and responsibility of international agencies, which could contribute so much to promoting peace,” the statement concludes.

PRINT THIS STORY

Contact Information: Send mail to priu@presidentsoffice.lk with questions or comments about this web site. 
Last Updated Date: August 02, 2007 - 8.50 GMT