VIDEO: Sri Lanka should conduct independent national probe on allegations - Dayan

Sri Lanka should conduct an independent national inquiry, but with international credibility, into allegations of human right violation during final stages of the war against the Tamil Tigers, says former senior diplomat Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka.

Colombo’s former Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN Office in Geneva stated that the international community led by the United States is preparing to pass another resolution at the Human Rights Council in March, to press for an international probe into Sri Lanka.   

In an interview with Ada Derana, he stated that the impact of this was seen yesterday with the US Embassy’s twitter fiasco, which had claimed that two top US Ambassadors had visited the site of the “killing of hundreds of families by army shelling” in January 2009. 

The official tweet by the US Embassy in Colombo to the entire world clearly shows what they are attempting with this so called independent international inquiry, he said, adding that such a probe would definitely turn the justified war carried out by the Sri Lankan armed forces upside down and declare them as wrongdoers.   

Dr. Jayatilleka pointed out that Sri Lanka should follow 3 steps in order to successfully face this situation and that the first step is to set up an independent national inquiry, albeit with international credibility, into alleged rights violations. 

He proposed that either Judge C.G Weeramantry, former Vice-President of the International Court of Justice, or Sir Desmond de Silva, Queen’s Counsel be appointed to lead the panel and investigations launched immediately.

The second step, according to Dr. Jayatilleka, is that a public political dialog should be launched with the Northern Provincial Council, in order to show to the world that a political dialog clearly exists in the country.

He stated that the third and final step is to establish a small cabinet comprising of several individuals with knowledge on foreign policy and competency within the government’s ranks, headed by the President himself.

Dr. Jayatilleka proposed that Prof. Sarath Amunugama, Minister D.E.W. Gunasekara, MP Rajiva Wijesinghe, MP Wasantha Senanayake and Milinda Moragoda be appointed to this committee.

The President should appoint this sub-committee immediately to at least end this cold war in a stalemate, he said.