Sunday Times E-Paper

Former minister questions Canada’s sanctions on two former presidents

Former Public Security Minister and onetime Navy Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekera, has taken up cudgels with the Canadian government’s recent announcement that it was imposing sanctions on two former Sri Lankan Presidents and two former servicemen. He quoted a chapter and provision from the international protocols and questioned the hypocrisy of the Canadian government, asking it; “why seest thou the mote in your brother’s eye, but first take the beam out of your own eye.” It seemed to be ‘an eye for an eye’ response, which he sent to the Canadian High Commissioner in Colombo.

The letter referred to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) first adopting a resolution congratulating the Sri Lankan Government soon after the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was defeated, bringing the long-standing insurgency to an end and liberating tens of thousands of Tamil civilians kept by the terrorist group as hostages.

But by 2014-2015, the same UNHRC turned its tune, passing a resolution to investigate the Sri Lankan armed forces on the grounds there was credible evidence that suggested war crimes had been committed. The Indian and Pakistani envoys had then condemned what they referred to be an “intrusive invasion” of national sovereignty by these resolutions.

The Parliamentarian said no political or military advantage was served in killing civilians or shelling hospitals indiscriminately and it was the LTTE that killed hostages who tried to escape. Around 290,000 civilians were freed by the armed forces.

As the insurgency was classified as a noninternational armed conflict, only people who had committed an offence under the International Humanitarian Law should be tried, which meant that “command responsibility” was not recognised under international law. He asked on what basis therefore, did Canada impose sanctions on the two former Presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa and Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

The nasty sting however, was in the tail of the former minister’s letter where he drew from a report of The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada which revealed, with evidence, persistent and deliberate violations of their human rights by Canadians against indigenous women and girls in their own country. He asked what moral right Canada had to pass judgement on human rights violations in other countries, and that too without evidence.

The Parliamentarian then came to the preponderant view and the irresistible conclusion that the Canadian government was merely weighed down by the pressure of the LTTE diaspora in that country to do what it had done. He is awaiting a reply to his letter from the Canadian envoy in Colombo. We wish him luck.

NEWS

en-lk

2023-01-29T08:00:00.0000000Z

2023-01-29T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://sundaytimes.pressreader.com/article/281603834603105

Wijeya Newspapers