By Shamindra Ferdinando

National Freedom Front (NFF) leader Wimal Weerawansa, MP, yesterday (15) accused the UN of playing politics with the controversy over the cremation of all those who died of COVID-19.

Minister Weerawansa said so when The Island sought his opinion on the UN recently requesting Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to do away with the existing restrictions.

Minister Weerawansa emphasised that there couldn’t be justification whatsoever in UN intervention as the situation took a turn for the worse over the past several days.

With the death toll now beyond 50 and positive cases over 16,000 the country couldn’t risk a further deterioration, lawmaker Weerawansa said. Responding to another query, Minister Weerawansa pointed out that UN Resident Coordinator in Colombo Ms Hanaa Singer wouldn’t have intervened without consulting New York.

The NFF leader said that Ms. Singer copied her Nov 12 dated missive to Health Minister Pavitra Wanniarachchi, Justice Minister Ali Sabry, PC, and Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena. Minister Weerawansa questioned the UN’s assertion that ‘negative consequences of not allowing burials seem to outweigh any potential epidemiological benefit, the country has gained.’

The NFF has six MPs among 145-member SLPP parliamentary group.

“I fear that not allowing burials is having a negative effect on social cohesion and, more importantly, could also adversely impact the measures for containing the spread of the virus as it may discourage people to access medical care when they have symptoms or history of contact,” Ms Singer said, claiming that she intervened in this matter after receiving many appeals within and outside the Muslim community that the current policy is discriminatory.

Minister Weerawansa compared the UN Resident Coordinator’s claim of having received ‘impassioned appeals’ with moving Geneva resolution on the basis of unverified war crimes accusations. If the UN was so concerned wouldn’t it better for them to make inquiries instead of releasing letters to the public, Minister Weerawansa asked.

Minister Weerawansa alleged that the UN had conveniently forgotten the restrictions affected all communities regardless of faith. Unfortunately, the UN raised the issue with Premier Rajapaksa as if restrictions only affected the Muslim community. The NFF leader said that many an eyebrow was raised recently over the UK condemning the arrest of 2019 Easter Sunday attack suspect, lawyer Hejaaz Hizbullah. Minister Weerawansa said that the contentious issue has been raised at the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), while the matter was pending before the country’s highest court.

The Cabinet also discussed the British government criticism of Sri Lanka’s withdrawal from the 30/1 accountability resolution and current human rights situation in Sri Lanka et al.

The UK’s International Ambassador for Human Rights, Rita French, in a statement delivered on behalf of Canada, Germany, North Macedonia, Montenegro and the UK alleged that civil society and human rights groups in Sri Lanka experienced an increasingly difficult operating environment.

A British statement quoted Ambassador French as having said: “Instances of intimidation, harassment and surveillance continue, including threats to families of disappeared persons. Individuals are detained indefinitely without appearance before court, such as lawyer Hejaaz Hizbullah.”

Minister Weerawansa said that unless the government successfully countered the latest UN move, Sri Lanka’s corona health guidelines, too, could end up a subject matter in Geneva.

Asked whether the cabinet of ministers discussed the Ms Singer’s letter, Minister Weerawansa said that

Premier Rajapaksa’s Office received the letter after last week’s cabinet meeting.

Minister Weerawansa reiterated that the cabinet could discuss anything though decision on health guidelines was certainly not the prerogative of the cabinet.

“We are in such a crisis, no sane political leadership will pursue political agenda at the expense of the well-being of the country,” lawmaker Weerawansa said.

Minister explained that the UN’s intervention should be examined against the backdrop of the global health community yet to reach conclusive decisions on rampaging coronavirus. The bottom line is that in the absence of consensus on how to tackle the epidemic, Sri Lanka shouldn’t under any circumstances adopt measures that could endanger the overall response to the unprecedented viral threat.

Minister Weerawansa emphasized that the discussion pertaining to the possibility of burying bodies in some isolated spot was absurd. “The health administration, security forces and the police are working overtime, under extremely difficult conditions to bring the situation under control while a section of the population demanded burial rights. This is not fair.”

Minister Weerawansa said that with some parts of the highly populated Colombo district under severe threat with the majority of deaths being reported there, the government would have to further tighten counter measures instead of appeasing opportunists.

The outspoken Minister called for an inquiry into recent claim by the Ceylon Thowheed Jamaat that the government authorized burials as it was denied. Colombo District MP attorney-at-law Premanath C. Dolawatte recently lodged a complaint with the CID in that regard. Claiming that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa never promised to do away with cremation of all corona victims lawmaker Dolawatte requested an inquiry

Minister Weerawansa said that in the wake of UN the intervention, various other international groupings such as the EU, too, could issue statements in that regard. Asked whether he felt a section of the international community adopted a policy hostile towards post-war Sri Lanka, lawmaker Weerawansa alleged those who couldn’t stomach eradication of the LTTE were still campaigning against the country. The return of the war winning administration to power was a headache for some, the minister alleged.

Minister Weerawansa emphasized the pivotal importance of the government addressing this issue in one voice without conceding to what he called politics of religious extremism.