Human Rights Minister rebuts Lord Brown’s criticism

GENEVA: Disaster Management and Human Rights Minister and Head of delegation to the Seventh Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, Mahinda Samarasinghe joined issue with the British Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, Mark Malloch-Brown, yesterday morning.

Samarasinghe in exercising his right of reply said that Sri Lanka regretted the misconceived approach of Lord Brown as made clear by his statement which also revealed a lack of appreciation for the steps taken by Sri Lanka to protect human rights while dealing with terrorism.

Minister Samarasinghe said: “ Sri Lanka regrets the misconceived approach of the United Kingdom’s Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, in his address to this august Assembly.

“We share the concerns of many members of the international community that such approaches only promote a growing belief that some individuals find it difficult to let go of historical possessions.

“Regrettably, Lord Malloch-Brown has allowed himself to be quoted by the British Tamil Forum as saying that the results of the last election in Sri Lanka were unfortunate.

“This report has not been contradicted as yet, notwithstanding our High Commissioner in the UK bringing this to the attention of relevant parties.”

Today, the noble Lord asserted that countering terrorism requires respect for human rights.

As a practising democracy of long-standing, Sri Lanka is well aware of this and has over the years developed new institutions that a colonial tradition failed to install. We are proud of our record in dealing with terrorism, whilst minimizing harm to civilians. We hope that Lord Malloch-Brown will not forget that, when dealing with terrorism in other countries, our circumspection in this regard should be emulated.”

The noble Lord refers to ‘reports’ of problems but, in common with a few other countries, he fails to take into account substantial improvements in the situation in Sri Lanka.

I pointed out yesterday, in response to arbitrary assertions that the situation was deteriorating, that we are strengthening democracy and pluralism in a manner that had proved difficult in the past.”

His support for attempts to establish a UN Human Rights Office in Sri Lanka despite a clear position enumerated to the contrary by the Government of Sri Lanka, should be more productively replaced by a genuine concern for human rights for all our citizens in the context of a genuine struggle against terrorism.”

The intervention occurred in the midst of a series of bilateral meetings Minister Samarasinghe held with his counterparts from various parts of the world. In all these meetings he was assured of the continued support of their countries for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Sri Lanka and for its struggle against terrorism.

Among the high-level political representatives the Minister met on the second and third days of the sessions were, Manouchehr Mottaki, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, Anand Sharma, Minister of State for External Affairs of India, Viktor Gaisenok, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Manuel Lobo Antunes, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Portugal, Volodymyr Khandogiy, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Jan Kubis, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia, Abdelwahed Radi, Minister of Justice of Morocco, Jonas Gahr Store, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway, Gunter Nooke, Vice Minister and Commissioner of the Federal Government of Germany for Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid, Abdulla Shahid, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives, Frank Belfrage, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Sweden. A meeting with Lord Malloch-Brown was scheduled for later in the day along with several other meetings.

The Sri Lankan delegation comprised of the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva, Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka, Secretary-General of the Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process, Professor Rajiva Wijesinghe, Secretary to the Ministry of Justice and Law Reform, Suhada Gamalath, Legal Advisor to the Ministry of Defence, Mohan Peiris, President’s Counsel, Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Asoka Wijetilleka and Deputy Solicitor-General, W. J. S. Fernando.