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Friday, January 15, 2010 - 04.50 GMT |
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Suspicious
political motivations of so-called Permanent
People’s tribunal |
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The
conduct
of the
so-called
Permanent
People’s
Tribunal
on Sri
Lanka (PPTSL)
has
suspicious
political
motivations
or
manipulations.
Sri
Lanka
suspects
the
timing
of the
so-called
judgements
designed
to
influence
the
forthcoming
Sri
Lanka
election
on
January
26.
In a
statement,
the
Presidential
Secretariat
pointed
out that
the
PPTSL
has no
status
in
international
law and
its
terms of
reference
were of
dubious
nature.
Following
is the
full
text of
the
Statement:
STATEMENT
ON THE
SO-CALLED
‘PERMANENT
PEOPLE’S
TRIBUNAL
ON SRI
LANKA’
TO BE
HELD IN
DUBLIN
ON 14 –
16
JANUARY
2010
The
judgements
of the
so-called
‘Permanent
People’s
Tribunal
on Sri
Lanka’
will do
nothing
to
further
efforts
to
cement a
permanent
peace in
Sri
Lanka.
The body
is
ad-hoc,
has
dubious
terms of
reference
and has
no
status
in
international
law.
Furthermore
the
timing
is
clearly
designed
to
influence
the
forthcoming
Sri
Lanka
election
on Jan
26, and
suggests
a degree
of
political
motivation
or
manipulation.
There is
nothing
to
suggest
that
this
‘tribunal’
will be
conducted
in a
fair or
representative
fashion
and its
agenda
is
highly
suspicious.
We
strongly
condemn
any
unaccountable
organisation,
whether
it
purports
to be a
quasi-legal
entity
or not,
irresponsibly
distorting
events
and
seeking
to
selectively
pass
judgement
from
afar.
This
‘tribunal’
continues
to sow
the
seeds of
division
that has
gone on
for 25
years,
is
backward
looking
and it
will not
help the
important
recovery
and
unification
process.
In fact
the
‘tribunal’
is
itself a
serious
threat
to
stability
of the
country.
The
members
of the
‘tribunal’
should
be
helping
Sri
Lanka
unite,
and move
on at
the end
of a
terrible
conflict,
not
continue
to stoke
it
What
many
activists
criticising
the
Government
of Sri
Lanka
serve to
conveniently
ignore
is that
Sri
Lanka
was
terrorised
for over
a
quarter
of a
century.
Indeed,
it is
strange
that
organisations
that
appear
to stand
for
peace
can find
themselves
in a
situation
where
they are
overlooking
the
activities
of
terrorists
while
seeking
to
undermine
and
question
the
actions
of a
Government
and an
entire
nation
to bring
lasting
peace to
its
country.
All Sri
Lankans;
Tamil
and
Sinhalese;
Muslim
and
Buddhist;
Hindu
and
Christian;
suffered
at the
hands of
the LTTE
(Tamil
Tigers)
a
ruthless
organisation
that was
banned
by the
United
States
and the
European
Union
and was
described
by the
FBI “one
of the
most
dangerous
and
deadly
extremist
outfits
in the
world.
The
military
action
taken by
the
Government
of Sri
Lanka
was not
taken
lightly,
but
having
exhausted
all
other
options
it was
felt
that
decisive
military
action
was
required
to
defeat
terrorism
so that
all Sri
Lankans
could
live in
peace
and
enjoy
the
manifold
benefits
that
peace
brings.
For the
first
time in
almost
three
decades,
Sri
Lanka
can now
look to
a future
of peace
and
prosperity,
one in
which
all Sri
Lankans
will
benefit.
It is
time for
Sri
Lanka to
unite,
build
its
economy,
create
prosperity,
and look
to the
future.
It is
time
that the
international
community
supports
Sri
Lanka as
its
people
start
this new
chapter,
not
continue
to stoke
division
and
conflict.
Presidential
Secretariat
Colombo
January
14, 2010
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