• Latest
  • Trending

Sri Lanka could be let off the hook at UNHRC

February 28, 2017
US intervention is a violation of international law

US intervention is a violation of international law

April 17, 2021
A Phone Conversation Piloting a New Voyage

A Phone Conversation Piloting a New Voyage

April 17, 2021
China-funded Colombo Port City project faces serious legal challenge

China-funded Colombo Port City project faces serious legal challenge

April 17, 2021
Unplugging Bangladesh

Unplugging Bangladesh

April 17, 2021
India - Image credits: Annie Spratt / Unsplash

India reports 234,692 cases, record daily rise in COVID-19 infections

April 17, 2021
Image credits - Bryan Turner @bt_optics / Unsplash

Tokyo Olympics chief commits to Games as infections surge; fresh calls to postpone or cancel

April 17, 2021
Image credits - ICC Cricket / The Men's T20 World Cup 2021 will be held in India in October.

India to grant Pakistan cricket players visas for ICC World T20

April 17, 2021
Image credits - Neil Soni @neilsoniphotography / Unsplash

iPhone users get two major features on WhatsApp that Android users don’t have

April 17, 2021
Need for SAARC to activate security cooperation

Need for SAARC to activate security cooperation

April 17, 2021
China’s economy grew 18.3 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2021

China’s economy grew 18.3 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2021

April 16, 2021
Image credits - The Duke of Edinburgh apparently bought the 1935 Standard Nine for 12 pounds in 1940.(AFP: Ishara S Kodikara)

Prince Philip’s old car, a 1935 Standard Nine, becomes a Sri Lankan royal artefact

April 16, 2021
China-funded US$ 1.4 billion Colombo Port City project faces legal challenge

China-funded US$ 1.4 billion Colombo Port City project faces legal challenge

April 16, 2021
  • About Us
  • Advertisements
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
Sunday, April 18, 2021
  • Login
  • Register
No Result
View All Result
NewsIn.Asia
  • Home
  • Around South Asia
    • All
    • Afghanistan
    • Bangladesh
    • Bhutan
    • China
    • India
    • Maldives
    • Myanmar
    • Nepal
    • Pakistan
    • Sri Lanka
    US intervention is a violation of international law

    US intervention is a violation of international law

    A Phone Conversation Piloting a New Voyage

    A Phone Conversation Piloting a New Voyage

    China-funded Colombo Port City project faces serious legal challenge

    China-funded Colombo Port City project faces serious legal challenge

    Unplugging Bangladesh

    Unplugging Bangladesh

    India - Image credits: Annie Spratt / Unsplash

    India reports 234,692 cases, record daily rise in COVID-19 infections

    Image credits - ICC Cricket / The Men's T20 World Cup 2021 will be held in India in October.

    India to grant Pakistan cricket players visas for ICC World T20

    Need for SAARC to activate security cooperation

    Need for SAARC to activate security cooperation

    China’s economy grew 18.3 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2021

    China’s economy grew 18.3 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2021

    Image credits - The Duke of Edinburgh apparently bought the 1935 Standard Nine for 12 pounds in 1940.(AFP: Ishara S Kodikara)

    Prince Philip’s old car, a 1935 Standard Nine, becomes a Sri Lankan royal artefact

  • World
    • All
    • Japan
    • Russia
    • United States
    US intervention is a violation of international law

    US intervention is a violation of international law

    India - Image credits: Annie Spratt / Unsplash

    India reports 234,692 cases, record daily rise in COVID-19 infections

    Image credits - Bryan Turner @bt_optics / Unsplash

    Tokyo Olympics chief commits to Games as infections surge; fresh calls to postpone or cancel

    Image credits - Neil Soni @neilsoniphotography / Unsplash

    iPhone users get two major features on WhatsApp that Android users don’t have

    Have US sanctions been effective?

    Have US sanctions been effective?

    Joe Biden. Image credits - Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons

    U.S. imposes stiff sanctions on Russia

    Joe Biden. Image credits - Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons

    Afghanistan: Biden calls for end to ‘America’s longest war’

    John Kerry appeals to Bangladesh to stop coal- fired power plant near mangrove forest

    John Kerry appeals to Bangladesh to stop coal- fired power plant near mangrove forest

    Image credits - AARN GIRI / Unsplash

    New WhatsApp flaw can let cyber attackers deactivate your account using your phone number

  • Business
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Gaming
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Series
    Image credits - Variety / BAFTAImage credits - Variety / BAFTA

    BAFTA Awards 2021: See the full list of winners

    The name of Farhan Akhtar's Marvel project was not revealed. (Photo: Farhan Akhtar/Instagram)

    Farhan Akhtar shooting for secret Marvel project in Thailand

    SAG Awards 2019. Rob Latour/REX/Shutterstock

    Key winners at the 2021 Screen Actors Guild Awards

    The tragic life of Bollywood’s ethereal beauty

    The tragic life of Bollywood’s ethereal beauty

    © Photograph: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP Busy … George RR Martin.

    George RR Martin signs five-year, eight-figure deal for more HBO projects

    Art across the Palk Strait

    Art across the Palk Strait

    Marvel - Black Widow

    Marvel couldn’t wait any longer to kick off its next phase of movies and shows

    Image credits - Glenn Carstens-Peters / Unsplash

    Amazon Prime Video to produce its first Bollywood film in India

    Image credits - The Verge

    Justice League: After four years and countless tweets, the Snyder Cut is here

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health
    • Science
    • Travel
    Trust in Chinese vaccines gives European countries head start in global inoculation race

    Trust in Chinese vaccines gives European countries head start in global inoculation race

    Mask. Image credits - Vera Davidova / Unsplash

    How often do you wash your mask? This is how a mask worn for 6 hours looks like

    Image credits - © SuitX Exoskeletons give the wearer more power and endurance

    The ‘Iron Man’ body armour many of us may soon be wearing

    Image credits - Rachel Park / Unsplash

    10 benefits of fasting that will surprise you

    Pakistani dates tickle Lankan taste buds

    Pakistani dates tickle Lankan taste buds

    Image credits - Adam Gonzales / Unsplash

    Singapore becomes a global cruise leader, for now

    Covid-19. Image credits - Hakan Nural / Unsplash

    Clear link between AstraZeneca vaccine and rare blood clots in brain, EMA official tells paper

    Image credits - Lukas Blazek / Unsplash

    Is Big Tech going off remote working?

    Image credits - JC Gellidon / Unsplash

    A third of COVID survivors suffer neurological or mental disorders: study

    2456 Chinese nationals given the first dose of Sinopharm vaccine

    2456 Chinese nationals given the first dose of Sinopharm vaccine

    Trending Tags

    • Golden Globes
    • Mr. Robot
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Climate Change
    • Flat Earth
  • Tech
    Image credits - Neil Soni @neilsoniphotography / Unsplash

    iPhone users get two major features on WhatsApp that Android users don’t have

    Image credits - AARN GIRI / Unsplash

    New WhatsApp flaw can let cyber attackers deactivate your account using your phone number

    Image credits - © SuitX Exoskeletons give the wearer more power and endurance

    The ‘Iron Man’ body armour many of us may soon be wearing

    Image credits - Monkey MindPong Screenshot / YouTube

    Elon Musk’s Neuralink shows monkey with brain-chip playing videogame by thinking

    Image credits - Tim Bennett @timbennettcreative / Unsplash

    Facebook does not plan to notify half-billion users affected by data leak

    Image credits - Lukas Blazek / Unsplash

    Is Big Tech going off remote working?

    Trending Tags

    • Sillicon Valley
    • Climate Change
    • Election Results
    • Flat Earth
    • Golden Globes
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Mr. Robot
  • Coronavirus
  • Home
  • Around South Asia
    • All
    • Afghanistan
    • Bangladesh
    • Bhutan
    • China
    • India
    • Maldives
    • Myanmar
    • Nepal
    • Pakistan
    • Sri Lanka
    US intervention is a violation of international law

    US intervention is a violation of international law

    A Phone Conversation Piloting a New Voyage

    A Phone Conversation Piloting a New Voyage

    China-funded Colombo Port City project faces serious legal challenge

    China-funded Colombo Port City project faces serious legal challenge

    Unplugging Bangladesh

    Unplugging Bangladesh

    India - Image credits: Annie Spratt / Unsplash

    India reports 234,692 cases, record daily rise in COVID-19 infections

    Image credits - ICC Cricket / The Men's T20 World Cup 2021 will be held in India in October.

    India to grant Pakistan cricket players visas for ICC World T20

    Need for SAARC to activate security cooperation

    Need for SAARC to activate security cooperation

    China’s economy grew 18.3 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2021

    China’s economy grew 18.3 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2021

    Image credits - The Duke of Edinburgh apparently bought the 1935 Standard Nine for 12 pounds in 1940.(AFP: Ishara S Kodikara)

    Prince Philip’s old car, a 1935 Standard Nine, becomes a Sri Lankan royal artefact

  • World
    • All
    • Japan
    • Russia
    • United States
    US intervention is a violation of international law

    US intervention is a violation of international law

    India - Image credits: Annie Spratt / Unsplash

    India reports 234,692 cases, record daily rise in COVID-19 infections

    Image credits - Bryan Turner @bt_optics / Unsplash

    Tokyo Olympics chief commits to Games as infections surge; fresh calls to postpone or cancel

    Image credits - Neil Soni @neilsoniphotography / Unsplash

    iPhone users get two major features on WhatsApp that Android users don’t have

    Have US sanctions been effective?

    Have US sanctions been effective?

    Joe Biden. Image credits - Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons

    U.S. imposes stiff sanctions on Russia

    Joe Biden. Image credits - Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons

    Afghanistan: Biden calls for end to ‘America’s longest war’

    John Kerry appeals to Bangladesh to stop coal- fired power plant near mangrove forest

    John Kerry appeals to Bangladesh to stop coal- fired power plant near mangrove forest

    Image credits - AARN GIRI / Unsplash

    New WhatsApp flaw can let cyber attackers deactivate your account using your phone number

  • Business
  • Politics
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Gaming
    • Movie
    • Music
    • Series
    Image credits - Variety / BAFTAImage credits - Variety / BAFTA

    BAFTA Awards 2021: See the full list of winners

    The name of Farhan Akhtar's Marvel project was not revealed. (Photo: Farhan Akhtar/Instagram)

    Farhan Akhtar shooting for secret Marvel project in Thailand

    SAG Awards 2019. Rob Latour/REX/Shutterstock

    Key winners at the 2021 Screen Actors Guild Awards

    The tragic life of Bollywood’s ethereal beauty

    The tragic life of Bollywood’s ethereal beauty

    © Photograph: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP Busy … George RR Martin.

    George RR Martin signs five-year, eight-figure deal for more HBO projects

    Art across the Palk Strait

    Art across the Palk Strait

    Marvel - Black Widow

    Marvel couldn’t wait any longer to kick off its next phase of movies and shows

    Image credits - Glenn Carstens-Peters / Unsplash

    Amazon Prime Video to produce its first Bollywood film in India

    Image credits - The Verge

    Justice League: After four years and countless tweets, the Snyder Cut is here

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health
    • Science
    • Travel
    Trust in Chinese vaccines gives European countries head start in global inoculation race

    Trust in Chinese vaccines gives European countries head start in global inoculation race

    Mask. Image credits - Vera Davidova / Unsplash

    How often do you wash your mask? This is how a mask worn for 6 hours looks like

    Image credits - © SuitX Exoskeletons give the wearer more power and endurance

    The ‘Iron Man’ body armour many of us may soon be wearing

    Image credits - Rachel Park / Unsplash

    10 benefits of fasting that will surprise you

    Pakistani dates tickle Lankan taste buds

    Pakistani dates tickle Lankan taste buds

    Image credits - Adam Gonzales / Unsplash

    Singapore becomes a global cruise leader, for now

    Covid-19. Image credits - Hakan Nural / Unsplash

    Clear link between AstraZeneca vaccine and rare blood clots in brain, EMA official tells paper

    Image credits - Lukas Blazek / Unsplash

    Is Big Tech going off remote working?

    Image credits - JC Gellidon / Unsplash

    A third of COVID survivors suffer neurological or mental disorders: study

    2456 Chinese nationals given the first dose of Sinopharm vaccine

    2456 Chinese nationals given the first dose of Sinopharm vaccine

    Trending Tags

    • Golden Globes
    • Mr. Robot
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Climate Change
    • Flat Earth
  • Tech
    Image credits - Neil Soni @neilsoniphotography / Unsplash

    iPhone users get two major features on WhatsApp that Android users don’t have

    Image credits - AARN GIRI / Unsplash

    New WhatsApp flaw can let cyber attackers deactivate your account using your phone number

    Image credits - © SuitX Exoskeletons give the wearer more power and endurance

    The ‘Iron Man’ body armour many of us may soon be wearing

    Image credits - Monkey MindPong Screenshot / YouTube

    Elon Musk’s Neuralink shows monkey with brain-chip playing videogame by thinking

    Image credits - Tim Bennett @timbennettcreative / Unsplash

    Facebook does not plan to notify half-billion users affected by data leak

    Image credits - Lukas Blazek / Unsplash

    Is Big Tech going off remote working?

    Trending Tags

    • Sillicon Valley
    • Climate Change
    • Election Results
    • Flat Earth
    • Golden Globes
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Mr. Robot
  • Coronavirus
No Result
View All Result
NewsIn.Asia
No Result
View All Result
Home Around South Asia

Sri Lanka could be let off the hook at UNHRC

Editor by Editor
February 28, 2017
in Around South Asia, Around The World, Sri Lanka
Reading Time: 5min read
1 1
Share on WhatsApp

By P.K.Balachandran

Colombo, February 28 (www.bdnews24.com): Despite heavy lobbying by human rights groups against giving any reprieve to Sri Lanka, the South Asian island nation is likely to be let off the hook at the current session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) due to exigencies of international politics, diplomats stationed in Colombo believe. The expectation here is that Sri Lanka will be given more time to meet its commitments contained in the UNHRC resolution which it co-sponsored in September 2015.

Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe (R) and President Maithripala Sirisena stand next to each other during cricketer Kumar Sangakkara’s retirement ceremony, August 24, 2015. Reuters

The Western nations, which enjoy disproportionate clout in the 47-member body, appear to be keen to see that the “accommodative” Sri Lankan government led by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is protected against mounting pressure from the Joint Opposition led by Mahinda Rajapaksa, under whose Presidency (during 2005-2014), Sri Lanka had lurched towards China and assumed a virulently anti-West stance, raising hackles in security Establishments across the Western world.

India, which felt most threatened by the Chinese intrusion into the economic and strategic space in the island, is perhaps even more keen than the West in protecting the existing Sri Lankan regime. For it was during the Rajapaksa regime that China was well on its way to taking control of Sri Lanka’s harbours to integrate them with its String of Pearls project to encircle the world in economic and strategic terms. A Chinese bid to take over a part of the Colombo port was seen as an unfriendly act because Colombo port is a major transshipment hub for India. Alarm bells went off in New Delhi when a Chinese nuclear submarine was allowed to sneak into Colombo port without its knowledge in 2014 to symbolically coincide with the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

However, the West and India were gratified when in 2014, the then opposition led by Sirisena and Wickremesinghe began a vigorous campaign against Rajapaksa’s government attacking it on all fronts, including his bid to “sell” Sri Lanka’s strategic assets to the Chinese for “thirty pieces of silver.” The Tamils, who felt repressed by the Rajapaksa regime’s bid to entrench Sinhalese-majority power after the defeat of the Tamil Tiger rebels, and the denial of justice for crimes allegedly committed by the military during the war, sided with the opposition as it promised reconciliation, relief and justice. The Muslims, who had come under attack by Sinhalese-Buddhist expansionists backed by the Rajapaksa government, joined the anti-Rajapalsa bandwagon to defeat Rajapaksa in the January 2015 presidential and the August 2015 parliamentary elections.

Upon coming to power, the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe combine suspended work on all Chinese funded and executed projects running into billions of dollars on allegations of over-charging and pay-offs. Subsequently ,the government re-negotiated agreements on these projects to get a better deal. At the same time, the government stopped anti-West and anti-UN propaganda, which had a tendency to descend to indecent levels during the Rajapaksa regime. In marked contrast to Rajapaksa, who treated the UNHRC with contempt, the new regime decided to cooperate and even co-sponsored a resolution, setting for itself specific goals in the area of human rights and ethnic reconciliation.

Given Colombo’s lacklustre record in the 18 months since the UNHRC resolution, the West and the UNHRC have reasons to be unhappy. But after pointing out the shortcomings, Western and UN officials have always added that some progress has been made, and that they are encouraging Sri Lanka to keep to the set path without wavering. During a recent to Sri Lanka, a bi-partisan team from the US House of Representatives hardly spoke about the human rights issue, preferring to talk of economic development. President Sirisena in turn assured them that Sri Lanka was eager to host US investors.

On its part, India has distanced itself from the ethnic issue. Its Foreign Secretary, S Jaishankar, told Tamil leaders recently that they should make use of the existing democratic freedoms; participate in governance; and cooperate in the economic development of the Tamil areas, without holding all matters hostage to a single issue, namely, a “satisfactory political solution.”

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA), which is under Indian influence, has also modified its stand on the Sri Lankan government. It now says that the UNHRC could give Colombo more time but it must be “under the strictest conditions.”

The UN Human Rights High Commissioner, Prince Zeid, though a doughty fighter for human  rights, has also gone soft on the Sri Lankan issue to the extent of even saying that whether the proposed Judicial Mechanism to investigate and try war crimes cases will have foreign judges or not is to be decided by the “sovereign” government of Sri Lanka, thus indirectly agreeing to the Sirisena government’s decision not to have foreign judges but only foreign investigative expertise.

Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe (R) and President Maithripala Sirisena REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte/Files

Rights lobby               

Having sensed that the US, UK ,Germany and India would join to present a mild resolution on Sri Lanka, giving Colombo more time to implement the September 2015 resolution, international and domestic human rights groups as well as Tamil Diaspora organizations are on a warpath against giving any such concession to Sri Lanka. They charge that Colombo has been using the goodwill and patience of the West to procrastinate, and play to its Sinhalese majoritarian constituency, while hoodwinking the minority Tamils with grand declarations about reconciliation mechanisms while studiously avoiding concrete action on any of them.

The smaller Sri Lankan Tamil parties and the Tamil Diaspora groups are sending delegations to address the 47-member countries at the UNHRC to say that no moratorium should be given to Colombo, and that the 2015 resolution should not be diluted in any way, especially in the matter of foreign judges in the war crimes courts.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have pointed out that they are concerned about Colombo’s refusal to have foreign judges; the non-repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act; the flaws in the act on Office of Missing Persons (OMP); the absence of Security Forces reform.

The Tamil parties and Diaspora groups point out that the Sri Lankan military still hold 67,000 acres in the Northern Province, as only 2,500 acres had been returned since the end of the war. In Ampara district in the Eastern Province, Muslims say that 2800 acres seized from them during the war, are yet to be returned. Officially, 65,000 people have gone missing since 1994 and the Paranagama Commission on Enforced Disappearances has received 20,000 complaints. The Office of Missing Persons will only be another fact collection agency as it has no power to investigate and prosecute. And the OMP itself is yet to be set up. This is because the majority Sinhalese fear that scientifically collected data could be used against the armed forces in the proposed war crimes court.

The Tamils want foreign judges as they feel that the Sri Lankan judiciary, dominated by the Sinhalese, will not indict military personnel as these are also mostly Sinhalese. But the majority Sinhalese feel that foreign judges will be biased against the armed forces. The Tamils also point out that the government is giving  priority to drafting a new constitution and not to setting up war crimes judicial mechanisms. They charge that this is a delaying tactic.

But all these facts are not expected to influence the UNHRC because, at the end of the day, the exigencies of international and regional politics will determine the nature of the resolution.

(The featured picture at the top shows Sri Lankan Tamil women demonstrating on the issue of forced disappearances)

SendShare14Tweet1ShareShare
Editor

Editor

Recommended Articles

  • All
  • Recommend
A Phone Conversation Piloting a New Voyage

A Phone Conversation Piloting a New Voyage

April 17, 2021
Unplugging Bangladesh

Unplugging Bangladesh

April 17, 2021
China-funded US$ 1.4 billion Colombo Port City project faces legal challenge

China-funded US$ 1.4 billion Colombo Port City project faces legal challenge

April 16, 2021
Trust in Chinese vaccines gives European countries head start in global inoculation race

Trust in Chinese vaccines gives European countries head start in global inoculation race

April 15, 2021
John Kerry appeals to Bangladesh to stop coal- fired power plant near mangrove forest

John Kerry appeals to Bangladesh to stop coal- fired power plant near mangrove forest

April 14, 2021
A grim new year for debt-trapped rural women in Sri Lanka

A grim new year for debt-trapped rural women in Sri Lanka

April 13, 2021

Advertorial

  • All
  • Advertorial
Visual and Textual Analysis for Images with Reverse Search Tools

Visual and Textual Analysis for Images with Reverse Search Tools

January 3, 2021

Popular Now

  • Disneyland. Image credits - Kon Karampelas / Unsplash

    Sri Lanka will build South Asia’s first Disneyland

    274 shares
    Share 110 Tweet 69
  • Sri Lanka issues health guidelines for Ramadan related activities in Mosques

    15 shares
    Share 6 Tweet 4
  • Colombo Port City and Hambantota port are dual engines of Lanka’s economic growth: Chinese envoy

    14 shares
    Share 6 Tweet 4
  • Sri Lanka to expect third-wave in May: PHIs say

    12 shares
    Share 5 Tweet 3
  • A grim new year for debt-trapped rural women in Sri Lanka

    11 shares
    Share 4 Tweet 3
  • About Us
  • Advertisements
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact

© 2020 NewsIn.Asia - Lovingly maintained by DigitalArc.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Around South Asia
    • Afghanistan
    • Bangladesh
    • Bhutan
    • China
    • India
    • Maldives
    • Myanmar
    • Nepal
    • Pakistan
    • Sri Lanka
  • Around The World
  • Breaking News
  • Business
    • Exchange
  • Climate Change
  • Governance
    • Crime
    • Diplomacy
    • Defense
    • Human Rights
    • Politics
    • Strategic Affairs
  • Lifestyle
    • Books
    • Entertainment
      • Arts
      • Cinema
      • Gaming
      • Music
      • Movie
      • Series
      • TV
    • Health
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Travel
  • Culture
    • Ethnicity
    • Gender
  • Development news
  • Economy
  • Education
  • Environment
  • Coronavirus
  • History
  • National
  • Offbeat
    • Media
    • Music and arts across South Asia
  • Recommended
    • Headlines
    • Highlights
    • Top Picture
    • Top Story
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Cricket
      • LPL
      • IPL
    • Tennis
    • Formula 1
    • NBA
  • Tech
    • Instagram
  • United Nations
  • Weather
  • World
    • Japan
    • Russia
    • United States

© 2020 NewsIn.Asia - Lovingly maintained by DigitalArc.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In