Experts In Human Rights

Human rights today have become such a complicated subject that it seems only experts are competent to talk on the subject.

I refer to the report on the subject in the front page of the Sunday Island of 30th August 2009 where a human rights expert Professor Philip Alston has called for the immediate establishment of an independent inquiry into the authenticity of a video which purportedly depicts the extrajudicial execution of two naked and helpless men by the Sri Lankan military and the presumed prior executions of others. Our government has categorically denied all these allegations.

Professor Alston has a big title. He is the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. The report states and I quote “Like many other UN rapporteurs Professor Alston reports to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva and to the General Assembly and he serves in an independent and unpaid capacity”. “Independent and unpaid” are the key words of an NGO about whom we know quite a bit, but this is the first time that we know there are so many do-gooders at the service of the UN.

Now the professor says that if the Government’s position is validated as a result of an inquiry, the international community can rest easy and the Government will have been vindicated. Agreed! Professor Alston. Agreed not once, not ten times which is 10 to the power 1, not 100 times which is 10 to the power 2 but 10 to the power 18 times which is the number of sand grains 1 mm diameter spherical in shape like billiard balls that will be required to fill a tank one kilometre wide, one kilometre long and one kilometre high. If you are not satisfied with that I will agree with you 10 to the power 21 times which is the number of dust particles of one tenth of a millimetre diameter that the above tank can hold but you conveniently forgot one thing which is very important to us.

What if the video has been found to be doctored? Will you then not initiate an inquiry to determine those responsible and prosecute them? Your statement on behalf of the UN does not show that you have the intention of getting those responsible prosecuted. We see this as UN justice.

Professor Alston has added that he regretted that our government had not yet issued him an invitation to make an official visit to Sri Lanka despite a number of requests in recent years, but he hoped an invitation may come given the new allegations. So every time an allegation is made against us we are obliged to invite the prosecutor to examine the evidence and clear us. What arrogance! Our government will not even bother to reply to you and your idea of getting the UN to invade Sri Lanka and partition our country and get a foothold here to balkanize India and remove her from being a threat to the living standards of the West will never materialize.

Asian Tribune -