Canadian Tamils for Peace and Democracy (CaTpad) opposes UN Panel Report as interfering in Srilankas internal affairs.

Press Release                                                                        19 April 2011     

The Canadian Tamils for Peace and Democracy opposes the intervention of UN in the internal affairs of Srilanka and rejects the UN Panel report. Rather than recommending to improve the reconciliation and rehabilitation process in Srilanka, the UN panel has strengthen the morale of Terrorist and separatist elements outside and within Srilanka discouraging the efforts taken by the Government of Srilanka for a reconciliation.

We Canadian Tamils for Peace and Democracy strongly believes the responsibility of the International community and the UN to help and assist Srilanka to rebuild the relations between both the communities by giving its expertise on reconciliation in the political process and support to rehabilitate the refugees who are mere victims of  Terrorism.

As the wounds of enmity artificially created by Terrorist LTTE are healing, the Tamil community which was kept under iron curtain by the Vanni regime is extending their hands to their majority Sinhala community for political reconciliation will be damaged by the UN panel report. The intension of the report at this crucial time of reconciliation process takes place gives a suspicion of the motivation of UN panel and the countries supporting it to destroy not just the countries image but to destroy the initiative taken by the Government of Srilanka.

We would like to bring forward to the International community and the UN, which the war against Terrorism was carried out by the mandate given by the people of Srilanka to a democratically elected Government in Srilanka (GOSL) and not by the mandate by the UN, therefore the Government of Srilanka is oblige and answerable only to the people of Srilanka and not to answerable or to fulfill the mandate of UN.

As the Terrorism is defeated in Srilanka, it has brought the regional stability and lead to play a major part towards regional prosperity which includes strengthening of political, social and economical cooperation and development between the member states.

The war against Terrorism and separatism in Srilanka has been supported by all the regional countries leaving none in the region including China setting an example to the other conflicts areas in the world unlike Middle East, Africa and Europe.  The attempt by UN panel seems to discourage and destroy the regional cooperation and stability achieved by its member states and an intervention in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). Its better for the UN to leave to settle the regional problems in the hands of the regional association to handle and settle it, where the regional countries will be in a more better position to handle effectively.

The allegations made by UN panel has failed to recognize the successful and hard efforts made by the security forces for a safe passage of civilians in the war zone in spite of using civilians as human shields by the Terrorist. The Allegation of denial of humanitarian assistance was a total false propaganda by the UN panel, without knowing the fact, that Srilanka has made history in the humanitarian assistance bringing out forty seven thousand civilians in one day from war zone and provided food and medicine in spite of the ongoing war soldiers even risking their own life to save civilians.  The refusal of acknowledgement of humanitarian assistance provided by the small tiny country in the Indian ocean to three hundred and  eighty thousand people of young, old and children with medical, food and necessary assistance is not just regrettable but only bring shame to the UN and its supporting countries.

As the panel itself says it does not advocate a “ one size fits all” formula or the importation of foreign models, rather recognizes the need for accountability process to be defined based on national assessments, the GOSL based on its own experiences for decades in dealing with arm uprising and Terrorism has enriched with knowledge of its own than any other country in the region as well as in the world, has assessed the situation on ground and had implemented its own method of not just rehabilitating the refugees of Terrorism but trained men and women who fought against the state in a very successful way reintegrating them back to civilian life. Srilanka has become one of the role model to the world in giving a new life to thousands of cadres involved in armed conflict. 

Regarding about the findings about Lesson Learnt Rehabilitation Commission (LLRC), the panel has recommendations only based on conclusion without knowing the report which is yet to be submitted.  The Panel says LLRC does not meet international standards and cannot satisfy the joint commitment of the President of Srilanka and the Secretary-General to an accountability process. The panel failed to understand LLRC is accountable only to the people of Srilanka and to its President not with International standards which fail to protect the rights of Palestinians, people of Darfur and affected people living in other parts of the world.   

In the Panel recommendations 1: Investigations, recommends genuine investigations by both sides. Knowing the LTTE leadership is totally eliminated, this could lead to one sided investigation, which will further hinder the reconciliation process and will do more harm to the government effort in finding a genuine solution to the problems.

UN panel should have known that thousands of LTTE cadres have been already gone through rehabilitation process and been released. Many of them are sent back home to join their family members and have merged with civilian life. Many more have married and some are attending schools and colleges even entered university. But the hard core cadres are yet to be released and their release are determined by their progress of rehabilitation. It was first time in the world that a party in the conflict is been allowed to be taken care by their own leader who is Kumaran Pathmanaban alias K.P a high profile LTTE leader to take care of his own members. Therefore some recommendations in 2 become invalid and one sided.

Canadian Tamils for Peace and Democracy, call upon the United Nations to enforce and implement of its own treaties of UN conventions on Terrorism, instead of inviting HRC to reconsider its May 2009 Special Session Resolution. We CaTpad strongly suggest, that Srilanka should be allowed to carry out its task of reconciliation and rehabilitation in its own assessment based on its inheritance of knowledge dealing with Terrorist. Any interference in the region by UN will lead to collapse of peace and instability in the region, which will further aggravate the situation. We Canadian Tamils for Peace and Democracy recommend the Secretary General, to leave the matter in the hands of regional association to find a better solution.