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India, Japan skip vote on Sri Lanka resolution adopted at UNHRC

Published

2 years ago

2021/03/24

Sahan Weerasooriya

* 22 vote for, 11 against and 14 abstained

* Russia, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines stand with Lanka

By Shamindra Ferdinando

India skipped yesterday’s vote on the UK-led resolution titled ‘Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka’ as the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council adopted the resolution.

Of the 47 countries, 22 voted for the resolution, and 11 voted against it with 14 abstaining. Sri Lanka is not a member of the UNHRC. The US, which is also not a UNHRC member, declared its support for the resolution.

The resolution was the first to be put to the vote in keeping with the e-voting procedures established for the UNHRC 46th Session, which has been held virtually. On behalf of Sri Lanka, China called for a vote after Sri Lanka’s efforts to reach a consensus on the resolution proposed by the UK-led Core group failed.

In the run-up to yesterday’s vote, the government requested India to back Sri Lanka.

Foreign Secretary retired Admiral Jayanath Colombage is on record as having said that the government requested Premier Modi, in writing, to throw its weight behind Sri Lanka.

Yesterday’s defeat was the fourth suffered by Sri Lanka at the UNHRC since 2012. Sri Lanka brought the war to a successful conclusion in May 2009.

Asian nations China, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines voted against the resolution along with Russia, Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, Eritrea, Somalia and Uzbekistan.

South Korea in spite of close relations with

Sri Lanka voted against the country at the behest of the US.

The resolution received the backing of the UK, France, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Italy, Ukraine, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Bahamas, Brazil, Bulgaria, Côte D’ivoire, Czechoslovakia, Fiji, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Poland, Korea and Uruguay.

Along with India, Japan-both members of the US led military alliance against China abstained. Nepal and Indonesia, too, regardless of their close relations with Sri Lanka succumbed to pressure to skip the vote. Other countries to abstain were Bahrain, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Gabon, Libya, Mauritania, Namibia, Senegal, Sudan and Togo.

The resolution calls for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to enhance its monitoring and reporting on the situation of human rights in Sri Lanka, including progress on reconciliation and accountability, and to present an oral update to the Human Rights Council at its forty-eighth session, as well as a written update at its forty-ninth session, and a comprehensive report that includes further options for advancing accountability, at its fifty-first session, both to be discussed in the context of an interactive dialogue.

The resolution also urged the Office of the High Commissioner and relevant special procedure mandate holders to provide, in consultation with and with the concurrence of the Government of Sri Lanka, advice and technical assistance on implementing the above-mentioned steps.

The EU member states and those aligned with US led Western powers either voted for the resolution or abstained.

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SF claims thousands of police and military personnel leaving

Published

7 hours ago

2023/03/24

Thilina Walpola

By Saman Indrajith

Thousands of police and military personnel had left the services recently as they did not want to carry out illegal orders, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka told Parliament yesterday. According to the war-winning army commander 200 policemen have resigned during the past two months and 25,000 soldiers have left the army during the last two years.

“We urged the law enforcement and military officials not to follow illegal orders. We will reinstate them with back pay,” he said.

Fonseka also urged the President and the government MPs not to take people for fools.

“Sri Lanka owes 55 billion dollars to the world. Ranil’s plan is to borrow another seven billion during the next four years. So, in four years we will owe 62 billion to the world.

Ranil and his ministers ask us what the alternative to borrowing is. These are the people who destroyed the economy and society. They must leave. Then, we will find an alternative and develop the country,” he said, adding that the IMF loans had made crises in other nations worse.

“Ranil says that by 2025, we will have a budget surplus as in Japan, Germany and South Korea. These countries are economic power houses, and this comparison is ludicrous.”

News

CEB hit by exodus of technical staff

Published

7 hours ago

2023/03/24

Thilina Walpola

By Shiran Ranasinghe

At least five technical personnel of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) resigned daily for overseas employment, a senior CEB official said.They included electrical engineers, electricians and foremen, he added.

“Most of them are quitting due to the economic crisis while others are simply disillusioned. Trained and experienced technical staff are in high demand in many countries,” he said.

CEB United Trade Union Alliance President Ranjan Jayalal said that the CEB had lost about 2,000 employees in recent times due to the above reasons.

“We had about 24,000 such personnel a few months ago. Now the number has come down to 22,000. A number of people had to retire on 31 December, 2022.

News

Sajith questions sudden decision to charge Rs. 225,000 from students following NDES

Published

7 hours ago

2023/03/24

Thilina Walpola

By Saman Indrajith

The government had decided to charge Rs 225,000 from those enrolling at the Institute of Engineering Technology, Katunayake under the National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority (NAITA), Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa said yesterday in Parliament.

Premadasa said that the institute awards the National Diploma in Engineering Sciences (NDES) and no fee was charged from students until 2023.The IET awards the National Diploma in Engineering Sciences under the three major fields of civil, electrical and mechanical engineering, and eight sub-fields.

“This is an institute that has created over ten thousand tier two engineers. NDES is a four year programme,” he said.

The opposition leader said that the sudden decision to charge 225,000 rupees from students at a time when the average Sri Lankan family is facing significant economic challenges is unfair.

“This institute offered free tuition. We should continue this tradition. A large number of engineers are leaving the country and we need to ensure that we have a continuous supply of engineers to ensure we can maintain our essential technical services,” he said.