Govt. delegation in South Africa to study reconciliation mechanisms

Thursday, 20 February 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

A top Government delegation will leave for South Africa to explore ways to adapt the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to promote local co-existence, the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement yesterday. The Government is facing a resolution before the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) next month for failing to implement adequate reconciliation measures and investigate allegations of war crimes after the end of a three-decade war in 2009. The resolution, which is the third consecutive one faced by the Government, is led by the US, which has insisted Sri Lanka’s human rights record has failed to improve since the conflict between the Government and the Liberation Tamil Tigers of Eelam (LTTE) ended. The delegation led by Cabinet Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva will hold discussions with the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party on understanding South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the manner in which that exercise can help in Sri Lanka’s own reconciliation process. This initiative is a result of the recent discussions between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and South African President Jacob Zuma when he visited Sri Lanka for the Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting last year. President Zuma in his 6th State of the Nation Address last week announced that Cyril Ramphosa, Vice President of the ANC, has been appointed South Africa’s Special Envoy to Sri Lanka to assist in initiatives for bringing about peace and reconciliation. “While the context of the conflicts in Sri Lanka and South Africa has several differences, the sharing of experiences and insights is clearly of value. The forthcoming high level discussions underscore the close and collaborative relationship between the two Governments. Sri Lanka has been studying the South African experience in reconciliation, and adapting it to local conditions, as the reconciliation process, in order to be sustainable needs to be homegrown,” the statement noted. However, United National Human Rights High Commissioner Navi Pillay in her report to be presented before the UNHRC on Sri Lanka has anticipated the formation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and already advocated that amnesty should not be granted to perpetrators of crimes as it was done in South Africa. Sri Lanka’s powerful Army has been implicated in allegations of civilian killings during the last phase of the war, a charge vehemently denied by the Government.

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