Sri Lanka refutes former HRCSL Commissioner’s claims

Sri Lanka has rebutted the claims made by the Chairperson of the Neelan Tiruchelvam Trust, Ambika Satkunanathan during an exchange of views on the situation of human and labour rights in Sri Lanka at the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights on 27 January. 

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry noted with concern the “misleading statements” contained in the testimony of former Commissioner of Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL), which it said completely ignores the progress made by the Sri Lankan government on many fronts.

It also stated that this testimony creates doubts about the Sri Lankan government’s intents and sincerity, particularly at a time when it is engaged in long-standing cooperation with the UN human rights mechanisms and the UN Human Rights Council and is delivering on its commitment to address accountability and reconciliation through domestic processes and institutions.

Expressing its disappointment, the Foreign Ministry said among the recommendations made by Satkunanathan is that the EU uses its leverage on the GSP+ facility to exert pressure on the government on human rights.

“If Sri Lanka loses the EU GSP+ facility, particularly at a time when livelihoods of millions of Sri Lankans belonging to all communities are already affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the resulting losses would exacerbate poverty and income inequality. Some of the worst affected sectors will be fisheries and agriculture which are among the key industries in the North and the Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka,” the statement pointed out.

The Foreign Ministry also noted that the “unfounded allegations” about discrimination of ethnic communities in Satkunanathan’s testimony are reminiscent of LTTE propaganda that once stoked hatred among communities.

In a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country such as Sri Lanka, such allegations need to be refuted in the interest of social harmony and to prevent the spread of dangerous fallacies about Sri Lanka in the international community, it emphasized.

The Foreign Ministry refuted Satkunanathan’s claims on ‘a culture of impunity.’ It pointed out that the Sri Lankan government is engaged in long-standing cooperation with the UN human rights mechanisms as well as with the UN Human Rights Council.

“Sri Lanka is delivering on its commitment to address accountability and reconciliation through domestic processes and institutions. The government has been actively engaging the international community including the UNHRC’s Universal Periodic Review and Special Procedures to address the various concerns that have been raised. This includes the allegations of systematic torture.”

The Foreign Ministry went on to say that the government has made it clear that additional reforms would be undertaken to further strengthen rule of law, access to justice, and accountability. It remains open to a constructive discussion on suggestions and further steps to address shortcomings, it added.

Speaking of Satkunanathan’s references to ‘Sinhala Buddhist nationalism’ and ‘militarisation’ as driving the actions of the government, the Foreign Ministry stated that she has made vague claims of racial profiling in the absence of any concrete evidence of discrimination against minorities.

In its response, Foreign Ministry pointed out that Sri Lanka is a secular country and all citizens, irrespective of their religion or ethnicity share the same fundamental rights under the Constitution.

Furthermore, Sri Lanka ensures access to public services such as free education and free health facilities without any discrimination on the basis of ethnicity or religion, the statement continued. “In fact, even during the military conflict when large areas of the Northern and the Eastern Provinces were under the control of the LTTE, the government continued with the provision of such public services to the areas so that the civilians, who were mainly ethnic Tamils and Muslims, would not be affected.”

Satkunanathan has pointed to the Presidential Task Force on Archaeology which she accuses of being a tool for land grabbing and changing the demographics of minority-heavy areas and the Presidential Task Force on One-Country One Law which she accuses of stoking ethnic hatred and violence, the Foreign Ministry said further.

“After the war, as displaced persons returned to the Northern and the Eastern Provinces, there has been an increase in unauthorized encroachment into forest areas inevitably leading to destruction of archaeological sites. So, there is an urgent need to take concrete measures in order to protect these sites.”

The Foreign Ministry vehemently denied the claims that the Presidential Task Force on Archaeology is a pretext for land grabbing and introducing the Sinhalese to these areas. “It may be noted that there is representation of all ethnic communities in this Task Force.”

Addressing the allegations on the Presidential Task Force on One Country One Law, the Foreign Ministry remarked that it is expected to play an advisory role only. “The Task Force’s recommendations will be first studied by the Justice Ministry, then the Cabinet of Ministers and finally the Parliament following the democratic traditions.”

With regard to her allegations that the Northern and Eastern Provinces are ‘occupied’ by the military, the Foreign Ministry responded that the majority (more than 92%) of the private lands occupied by the military at the end of the conflict in year 2009 have already been released to legitimate land owned civilians. “A mechanism is already in place to expedite the process of releasing remaining private lands.”

The Foreign Ministry also said it is particularly disappointing to see Satkunanathan’s allegations that ‘civic space’ is shrinking and that informal and extra-legal processes are used to curtail the activities of civil society organizations.

In its statement, the ministry asserted that government views NGOs as partners and not as adversaries. “The government acknowledges the constructive contributions made by civil society organisations in the work of the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR) and Sustainable Development Council of Sri Lanka. It has also introduced certain policy changes to facilitate the work of NGOs such as bringing the NGO Secretariat under the Foreign Ministry.”

The Foreign Ministry reiterated that apart from operating routine security networks in the interest of national security, particularly after the devastating Easter Sunday terrorist attacks, the Security Forces and intelligence agencies are not engaged in monitoring or targeting any specific group of people in the country.

It refuted Satkunanathan’s claims of extra-judicial killings and arrests under the pretext of a “war and drugs.” With regard to the PTA, the statement noted that the government is in the process of amending the Act, which is now at the final stage and the international community is being briefed on that process.

Satkunanathan had also alleged that the government is exploiting its friendship with China to “undermine the efforts of states that call for accountability for human rights violations” in Sri Lanka.

On the contrary, mindful of strategic competition that is increasing in the Indo-Pacific region, the government’s main foreign policy directive is to maintain neutrality, in line with the non-aligned foreign policy we have adopted since Independence, the Foreign Ministry explained.

It also pointed out that apart from China, Sri Lanka has entered into partnerships with several countries such as India and Japan to fill gaps in national infrastructure development. Such partnerships have no bearing on Sri Lanka’s commitment to addressing accountability and reconciliation through domestic processes and institutions.