HRC BACELET OWES SRI LANKA AND APOLOGY

Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) leader Udaya Gammanpila, MP, yesterday said that former Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswarazn’s rejection of scientific findings of Beta Analytic Institute of Florida, USA, in respect of samples of skeletal remains sent from the Mannar mass grave site, underscored the difficulties in post-war national reconciliation process.

Attorney-at-law Gammanpila said that he was really shocked by the stand taken up by the retired Supreme Court judge.

Responding to a query, MP Gammanpila alleged that members of the four-party Tamil National Alliance (TNA) played politics with the Mannar issue. They reacted with shock and dismay over the US laboratory setting the record straight, the lawmaker said,

pointing out that the Colombo-based German Ambassador Joern Rohde and a British delegation visited the Mannar site in Nov and Dec 2018 as they were convinced of Sri Lanka Army’s accountability.

MP Gammanpila recalled how such visits received huge media coverage. Answering another query, Colombo District MP said obviously the Mannar project was meant to be used in a big way at the recently concluded Geneva sessions. Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet went to the extent of commenting on Mannar mass grave in her latest report that dealt with the period from Oct 2015 to January 2019, MP Gammanpila said. Had the US lab issued a report to suit their strategy, would they have accepted fresh tests in case the government of Sri Lanka requested, Gammanpila asked.

The PHU leader said that HRC Bachelet owed Sri Lanka an explanation as to how she arrived at damaging conclusions and whether reassessment could be made in the wake of the US lab report……..


By Shamindra Ferdinando



275 Viewers