UNHRC SLACKENS ITS STANCE ON SRI LANKA

The UNHRC visit by Volker Türk failed to evoke much enthusiasm or interest from media and the nationalists, compared to the previous visits by Navanethem Pillay and Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein; however, Tamil politicians and media were enthusiastic about the visit in comparison

- By M.S.M.Ayub

The visit by the current United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, to Sri Lanka last week failed to evoke as much enthusiasm or interest as the visits by his predecessors, Navanethem Pillay and Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein had done.

Even the media showed a weaker interest in the current UN human rights chief’s visit. The nationalists in the south, who made huge headlines especially during Navy Pillay’s tour in 2013, also seemed to have ignored Türk. They may sometimes be preoccupied with the recent chain of arrests of high-ranking officials and politicians of the previous governments over corruption, rather than coming to the limelight to condemn the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

Only the leader of the National Freedom Front, Wimal Weerawansa, faulted the government for permitting the UN High Commissioner to visit Chemmani, where excavations are being carried out for skeletons of those who are believed to have been killed during the war between the armed forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

However, Tamil politicians and Tamil media were too enthusiastic to see the human rights chief with renewed hope, especially in the context of dozens of human skeletons having already been unearthed recently from what is believed to be a mass grave site at Siththupaththi in Chemmani. During the recent weeks, skeletal remains of children with school bags and toys were found buried in the area.

This was a rare opportunity for the Tamil leaders to present firsthand evidence of extrajudicial killings of civilians, including children, to the human rights chief of the United Nations, despite the fact that the perpetrators of those crimes have yet to be scientifically determined. Volker Türk visited the area and participated in Hindu religious observances, despite allegations by some Tamil politicians that the government hesitated to make arrangements for his visit to the site.