TNA hails Zeid’s oral report

The Tamil National Alliance says the oral report by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Hussein that was delivered in Geneva last Wednesday (29) accurately captures the opportunities and challenges for reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka.

In a statement issued yesterday, the TNA said it was concerned about the very slow pace of implementation with respect to a number of human rights issues in Sri Lanka.

“In particular, delays in releasing private lands illegally occupied by the military, the continued use of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and the Government’s failure to repeal it, the breach of undertakings to release those held under the PTA, and the continuing surveillance and harassment of civilians in the North and East,” the statement said.

The TNA statement came out strongly in favour of the Government’s decision to table the Office of Missing Persons Bill in Parliament. “The Government consulted us on the Bill, and we are pleased that several of the extensive revisions we urged have been included in the gazetted text. We commend the Government for its constructive engagement on the Bill,” the TNA said in its statement.

“The OMP must represent a dramatic break from the experience of failed Commissions, including the current Paranagama Commission which lacks credibility. We reiterate that justice for crimes committed in the past by both sides is a necessary precondition to meaningful reconciliation,” the TNA said.