The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al
Hussein is upset with the Government of Sri Lanka. He said, ‘The Government has
refused point blank to cooperate with the investigation (into allegations of
human rights violations in the last phase of the war); such refusal does not
undermine the integrity of an investigation set up by the Council – instead it
raises concerns about the integrity of the government in question.’ He then asks, ‘Why would governments with
nothing to hide go to such extraordinary lengths to sabotage an impartial
international investigation?’
What he has not mentioned (why not?) is that the Government
has explained ad nauseam its position
on the matter detailing the lack of consistency, impartiality, rigor and
integrity on the part of his office and especially his predecessor, Navi
Pillay. He is correct though when he
says such refusals don’t undermine the integrity of the said investigation. It is not the refusal that questions integrity
but the pathetic track record of his office, especially with respect to its
dealings with Sri Lanka.
This was abundantly apparent in the collusion of his office
with the inglorious machinations of the United States of America to insult,
humiliate and in other ways harass Sri Lanka in multiple sessions of the
UNHRC. The US Embassy in Colombo as well
as senior diplomats representing countries that have consistently sided with
the USA in these moves have been interfering in the internal affairs of Sri
Lanka for years and especially in what can only be called ‘the manufacturing of
“evidence” to support a conclusion that has been desired’.
Sri Lanka has every right to object. Sri Lanka has every right to question Zeid’s
integrity when his office, so ready to unleash invective on Sri Lanka, indulges
in scandalous navel-gazing when certain countries have rejected the
commissioning of similar processes against them. In the case of Israel, for example, the UNHRC
has to contend with irrefutable evidence whereas in Sri Lanka’s case, Zeid is
working with vague allegations made by persons of dubious repute citing equally
compromised ‘witnesses’.
This is why his last question is ridiculous. He asks, let us repeat, ‘Why would
governments with nothing to hide go to such extraordinary lengths to sabotage
an impartial international investigation?’
The issue is, Mr Zeid, the absolute lack of integrity on your part and
that of your office. Simple. If you have any doubts, try answering the
following questions.
Why has your office not questioned the investigating team
about ‘evidence forms’ getting into the hands of terrorists? Does it not bother you that signatures have
been collected on unfilled forms?
If the Government did nothing about such activity then indeed
it would be supporting ‘interference’ in the UNHRC investigation, compromised
though that process is. Mr Zeid should
be applauding the Government for acting swiftly on this issue and bringing to
light something that clearly indicates that the entire investigative process
has been compromised beyond rectification.
Mr Zeid dismisses the entire matter by saying that his team
is equipped to detect fraud. Collusion
in fraud and a track record of selective targeting on the part of his office
doesn’t really give credence to the claim, but let’s go along with it. He ought to be concerned by the fact that
some people are actively engaged in a massive fabricating exercise. Worse, the agent of fabrication in this
instance has had close relationships with certain diplomats in Colombo as well
the Tamil National Alliance, the principal Sri Lankan political entity that had
been supporting the patently flawed UNHRC exercise.
We have the right to take issue with both parties here. Nevertheless, on this particular issue, it is clear that it is Mr Zeid who has got egg on his face. Integrity is the issue in contention here. It would be much simpler and so much more
honest if Mr Zeid came out with the truth.
All he has to do is to put the following in Diplospeak: ‘We have, for
reasons we don’t have to state but which you all know, decided on the
conclusion that is convenient to our purposes, we are in the process of
manufacturing evidence to support this and so Sri Lanka can go fly a kite!’
Malinda Seneviratne is the Editor-in-Chief of 'The Nation' and can be reached at msenevira@gmail.com
1 comments:
It is probable Sri Lanka has legitimate grounds to object to the UNHCR investigations, but denying them access is not the answer. We could challenge the integrity of the investigators and name our own to join their team. Incidentally, your mentioning the "Evidence Forms" is a bit mischievous and the UN High Commissioner has already said they are forgeries and did not originate from his office.
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