Members of Lankan rights panel quit in protest
Colombo (PTI): Four members of a Sri Lankan panel to oversee human rights in the country have quit citing failure of the government to take their advice "seriously". Award winning human rights advocate, Sunila Abeysekera, Nimalka Fernando, Rohan Edirisinha and Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu, in a letter to Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said they were resigning from the panel as they felt their advice was not taken seriously.
"Four of the 10 civil society members-part of an advisory committee set up by Samarasinghe to address human rights concern resigned from the panel citing differences with the government," the Daily Mirror reported on Monday. They accused the authorities of failing to take action to improve the island's rights record.
"We also felt the government was not serious on protecting human rights or eliminating the culture of impunity, so we wrote to the Minister saying we were giving up our positions with immediate effect," the report quoted Saravanamuttu as saying.
Samarasinghe, who is also the Disaster Management minister, while expressing disappointment at the decision of the four members, however, asserted that the process would continue with the remaining six members while four new members would be invited to replace the vacant slots.
The latest development is also a reflection of the growing differences between the U.N Human Rights Commissioner Louise Arbour and Sri Lanka over the government's approach to the issue.
Samarasinghe, however, contended that the government has already initiated action on several key issues raised by Arbour, who concluded her fact-finding mission to Sri Lanka on Saturday.
Top Stories
