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Friday, March 07, 2008 - 6.23 GMT |
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Sri Lanka will not allow violation of sovereignty, says Ambassador |
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Sri Lanka will not go down the road which permits
certain biased, lop sided, hypocritical human rights
institutions with double standards to violate its
sovereignty, said Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka, Ambassador
and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the
United Nations in Geneva, at the 7th Session of the
Human Rights Council, held at the United Nations in
Geneva, on March 6 speaking under item 7, on "Human
rights situation in Palestine and other occupied
Arab territories".
Speaking on the human rights situation in Gaza he
said: “We strenuously object to and we strenuously
condemn this policy of the declared punishment of
Gaza and the people of Gaza.” It is perfectly
possible to combat terrorism without inflicting
collective punishment upon peoples, he added.
Excerpts from his speech:
“Sri Lanka’s position on the issue of occupied
Palestine has no double standards in it. Sri Lanka
recognises the right of the state of Israel to
exist, and calls upon all others to do so. Sri Lanka
recognises the right of the state of Israel to
legitimate self defence and to combat terrorism.
But, Mr. President, it is perfectly possible to
combat terrorism without inflicting collective
punishment upon peoples. How do we know this?
Because that is the way Sri Lanka combats a
terrorist foe that is far deadlier than an
organisation that fires a few home-made rockets!
“James Grant of UNICEF once commended Sri Lanka
publicly for being one of the few states to feed the
enemy which fights against it. Therefore, we know
from our experience that it is perfectly possible to
combat even the deadliest terrorism without
blockading a whole people, without blockading a
whole area, and depriving it of essential supplies.
“We know how this situation came about. We have been
told about how ghastly the organisation Hamas is.
But we must not forget that it is the state of
Israel that caused the moderate or so called
moderate wing of the Palestinian movement
represented by President Arafat and Al Fatah to be
politically weakened. We remember Israeli tanks
pointing their gun barrels at the compound of
President Arafat in Ramallah, where he spent his
last days. Then, the so called international
community insisting on democratic elections, refused
to accept the results of those elections, which was
the election of Hamas in the Gaza. Following that, a
policy of financial blockade was instituted,
supported by some of the same governments that dare
to stand up in this hall and condemn Sri Lanka for
trying to defend its territorial integrity, a very
different situation from continuing a policy of
occupation and annexation against decades of UN
resolutions!
“We know that it s possible to combat terrorism
while co-operating with UN special procedures, while
permitting unfettered access to UN special
rapporteurs. We do it; we do it, we maintain a
policy of an open door. We have not done that which
Israel has done to obstruct the visit of Archbishop
Desmond Tutu. So it is possible, to follow a
different policy in combating terrorism.
“We know that Israeli Defence Forces have a proven
capability of targeted attacks on armed militants.
Frankly, Mr. President, Sri Lanka has no objection
to such a policy, if the state of Israel justly
feels threatened by those armed militants. But we
strenuously object to and we strenuously condemn
this policy of the declared punishment of Gaza and
the people of Gaza, whether it is electricity or
health infrastructure, bombarded by the most
sophisticated airplanes supplied by those whose
legislatures do not pass strictures or add riders to
the supply of such aircrafts though they do, when it
comes to the matter of supplying Sri Lanka with
weaponry in the defence of its own territorial
integrity!
“Finally, Mr. President, we heard from his
Excellency the Ambassador of Egypt, the double
standards prevailing in certain human rights
structures. These are the structures that we are
continuously exhorted to permit to open fully
fledged offices in our country. But we have seen
today, the double standards and hypocrisy of such
self appointed angels of human rights. Sri Lanka
will not go down the road which permits such biased,
lop sided, hypocritical institutions, to violate the
sovereignty.”
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