 The
International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has
engaged in a blatant falsehood in claiming that Sri
Lanka has refused to let the Working Group visit Sri
Lanka said Ambassador Dayan Jayatilleka.
"Sri Lanka has no intention of shutting itself off"
and has engaged and cooperated extensively with
various UN mechanisms said the Ambassador exercising
his right of reply during the interactive debate on
the report of the Special Rapporteur on Torture Mr.
Manfred Nowak on Tuesday 11th March at the on-going
7th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The Ambassador also said that it was curious that
Switzerland permits the commemoration of the "Black
Tiger Day", which is the day dedicated to the
commemoration of Tiger suicide bombers, while
calling for universal jurisdiction to be applied to
one ex-Tiger terrorist already facing British
justice.
Responding to the League for Rights and Liberation
of Peoples, he said there was no mention in this
entire disquisition on torture of the underground
prisons run by the Tamil Tigers who admitted to
draining the blood of army captives until they died.
The full transcript of Ambassador Jayatilleka's
statement follows:
Thank you, Mr. President.3 points. Firstly about
the working group on disappearances. The
representative of Australia suggested, indeed
recommended, that Sri Lanka permits this working
group to visit, while the representative of the
International Commission of Jurists said that Sri
Lanka has refused to do so. The truth Mr. President,
as will be borne out by Dr. Santiago Corcuera, is
that we have an on-going dialogue on the visit of
the group. We have certainly not declined or
refused. It has been a question of finding the right
time. And Sri Lanka, as you know, has co-operated
quite extensively with U.N. mechanisms, we have
opened ourselves up to scrutiny, we have allowed a
number of Special Rapporteur s, representatives,
working groups go down to Sri Lanka in the middle of
a mid-intensity conflict, and we have absolutely no
intention of shutting ourselves off. So, the ICJ has
once again engaged in what I might call a blatant
falsehood on this issue, Mr President.
The second point is the one raised by Switzerland,
to Special Rapporteur Manfred Nowak on the issue of
Mr. Karuna, who at the moment is facing British
Justice. I believe the question has been raised
about universal jurisdiction. Mr. President, I find
it rather curious that Switzerland is so concerned
about brining this one former Tamil Tiger to
justice, when Switzerland permits on its soil, in
its cities, in Zurich, in Lausanne, an annual
commemoration of Black Tiger day, which is the day
dedicated to the commemoration of the Tiger's
suicide bombers; the suicide bombers, one of whom
assassinated Nehru 's grandson Rajive Ghandi on
Indian soil. This same Switzerland displays touching
solicitude about brining one, ex-terrorist, to
justice.
The final point is the statement of the
International League for the Rights and Liberation
of Peoples.I am very sorry to note Mr. President,
that in this entire disquisition on torture, there
is not one reference to the underground prisons run
by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, who
admitted to the French journal Le Pointe in May
2000, that they drained the blood of Sri Lankan army
captives until they died.
Thank you very much.
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