Tamil National Alliance (TNA) MP, M.A. Sumanthiran welcomed the US led resolution on Sri Lanka which was tabled yesterday (March 8) at the UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva stating that it must not be feared as it is only seeking the implementation of the recommendations made through the LLRC report.

Speaking exclusively to Ada Derana, he stated that the resolution must not be viewed as something against the country as it is only seeking to implement the recommendations made by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission which was set up by President Mahinda Rajapaksa himself.

“We welcome this resolution. We don’t see the resolution as something that is against Sri Lanka. That is a false belief”, he said.

Sumanthiran said that whenever the international community asked legitimate questions about alleged war crimes and human rights violations, the government would point to the LLRC which was a domestic mechanism and state that once the report came out, the government would implement its recommendations but now that the report has been published, these recommendations are not being implemented.

Giving an example, he said that the LLRC had recommended that the National Anthem be sung in both Sinhala and Tamil and although the President in his Independence Day speech stated that the LLRC recommendations will be implemented, the national anthem was sung only in Sinhala at that same event.

“Even that small recommendation the government is unwilling to implement and that is why the international community has now after the lapse of three years has taken it up and is asking the question”.

He said that when it concerns human right and international humanitarian laws, the international community is in its purview to be legitimately concerned, adding that the TNA has called upon the international community to ensure that these recommendations are implemented.

“The TNA took a decision not to be present in Geneva because we have no place there... We are political party and we are part of the state structure here… We can canvass certain positions but we did not want to do that because we are part of this country and we don’t want anything against Sri Lanka”.

The TNA wants Sri Lanka to move forward through true reconciliation which is not merely on the surface, he added.