January 17, 2013 | Colombogazette
Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN Dr.
Palitha Kohona has questioned the value of the Commonwealth when he was asked
to comment on the criticism of the impeachment of Chief Justice Shirani
Bandaranayake by the Commonwealth.
When Inner City Press asked about the criticism of the
impeachment by the Commonwealth, Kohona answered rhetorically, “What is the
value of the Commonwealth?”
Meanwhile speaking at the UN Security Council, Kohona
has said that the organization must grapple with terrorism and aim to end or
dramatically lessen the human suffering and misery it caused.
A victim of terrorism for almost three decades, Sri
Lanka learned early the value of confronting terrorism’s links to international
trafficking, money-laundering, weapons smuggling and cyber crime networks, he
said.
He said that the LTTE had received ready funding from
sympathizers abroad and coerced terrified civilians to contribute to their
cause.
“Even during Sri Lanka’s post-conflict phase,
pre-existing networks in transit and developing countries continued to exploit
human misery. Prosecution of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam fundraisers
and arms procurers continued. Since the conflict ended, Sri Lanka had
focused on rehabilitation, reconstruction, reintegration and reconciliation. It
had re-established democratic processes and held local Government elections in
former conflict areas, as well as set up a Lessons Learned and Reconciliation
Commission. More than 11,000 former combatants had been rehabilitated and
allowed to return home,” he said.
