Retired Rear Admiral D. K. P. Dassanayake said that political parties represented in Parliament should disclose their stand on the UNHRC call for Sri Lanka to accept the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Speaking on behalf of a group of like-minded retired military officers Dassanayake said that was among the controversial set of proposals officially to be presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions scheduled to begin coming Monday (8).
Dassanayake said that though an advance copy of the report titled ‘Situation of Human Rights in Sri Lanka’ that dealt with the issues at hand was available to political parties, none commented. “All seemed to have chosen to conveniently remain silent while Geneva executed the Western agenda,” Dassanayake said.
The former Navy spokesman said so responding to The Island queries. Dassanayake said that the advance report had been in the public domain for more than two weeks but the government and the Opposition alike remained tight-lipped. “We are really concerned about the developing situation,” Dassanayake, who himself had been implicated in a spate of wartime abduction cases, said.
Dassanayake retired in February 2021 after a career spanning over 33 years. During the conflict, Dassanayake served as Director Maritime Special Forces and Deputy Director Naval Operations. In the last phase of the campaign, he led the naval blockade imposed on the Mullaitivu sector meant to prevent LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran making an attempt to flee.
Pointing out that before the unofficial release of the report Geneva Human Rights chief Volker Turk undertook a visit here, Dassanayake said that in addition to acceding to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, Geneva asked the government to release military-held lands, halt what the UN called new land seizures and accelerate titling efforts in the north and east, releasing all long-term detainees under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, supporting victim’s memorialization initiatives and ensuring impartiality of the Office on Missing Persons, including by seeking international expertise and monitoring to build its credibility.
Dassanayake said that there were a series of other recommendations. According to him, like-minded officers decided to take up the issues at hand and explore ways and means of advancing their cause. “We sought a meeting with the UN Human Rights Chief when he visited Colombo but was not granted an opportunity,” Dassanayake said.
Referring to the UN call for Sri Lanka to accept the ICC, Dassanayake said that was nothing new. They had been putting pressure on Sri Lanka over a period of time but previous governments, in spite of intense pressure, didn’t succumb, Dassanayake said.
Dassanayake questioned the rationale in proposing an independent body to undertake responsibilities hitherto carried out by the Attorney General.
The former Navy spokesman alleged that the UN could advance its agenda inimical to Sri Lanka as political parties actually cooperated with the global body. Co-sponsoring of 2015 accountability resolution against the war winning military was a case in point, he said.
By Shamindra Ferdinando 
