COLOMBO, March 22, 2013
Sri Lankan Minister for Youth Affairs Dullas
Alahapperuma on Friday criticized the United Nations resolution that calls on
the island-nation to thoroughly investigate war crimes allegedly committed
during its civil war, saying that it attempts to divide the country.
Mr. Alahapperuma’s comments came a day after the
U.N. Human Rights Commission approved the U.S.-backed resolution. The
resolution followed a U.N. report alleging Sri Lanka’s Government may be to
blame for tens of thousands of civilian deaths during the military campaign to
defeat the separatist Tamil Tiger rebels.
Mr. Alahapperuma told reporters that the UNHRC
was being misused by “imperialists” to divide Sri Lanka. He did not elaborate,
but such comments usually refer to the creation of a separate State for the
minority ethnic Tamils.
Rights groups and foreign governments have
called for an international probe of the civil war, which ended in 2009 after
Government troops crushed the rebels. The rebels fought for a separate State
for the Tamils for more than a quarter century.
By a 25-13 vote and with eight abstentions, the
47-nation UNHRC urged the South Asian nation “to initiate credible and
independent actions” to ensure justice and accountability in the aftermath of
the war. Those in favour included India and Brazil, while those opposed
included Pakistan, Venezuela and Indonesia.
A similar resolution in March 2012 called on Sri
Lanka to probe allegations of summary executions, kidnappings and other abuses,
but stopped short of calling for an international investigation.
Sri Lanka and its allies opposed both
resolutions, saying they unduly interfered in the country’s domestic affairs
and could hinder its reconciliation process.
The Sri Lankan Government has argued that its
own investigation should suffice. A Sri Lankan commission report, released in
December 2011, cleared government forces of wrong-doing.
Rights groups and government critics say Sri
Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s administration has ignored previous calls
for accountability, including last year’s resolution, and that it has dragged
its feet in implementing even the limited recommendations made by its own war
panel.
Thursday’s U.N. resolution was watered down
before it passed to add language praising Sri Lanka and to remove other
passages, such as those calling on the Government to give unfettered access to
U.N. special investigators and others. Backers of the resolution argued that
credible probes into alleged crimes are an important step to heal the nation.
