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Sri Lanka President Rajapaksa defiant on rights row
[BBC.CO.UK] Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has reacted defiantly to the UK's call for an inquiry into alleged human rightsOne man's rights are another man's existential threat. abuses, saying "people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones". He was speaking on the second day of the Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka. British PM  David Cameron... has stated that he is certainly a big Thatcher fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite,which means he's not. Since he is not deeply ideologicalhe lacks core principles and is easily led. He has been described as certainly not a Pitt, Elder or Younger,but he does wear a nice suit so maybe he's Beau Brummel ... had urged Mr Rajapaksa to ensure an independent inquiry or face a UN investigation. The abuses are alleged to have been committed mainly against Tamils since the end of the war in 2009. Pro-government commentators have pointed to alleged abuses under British colonial rule to suggest Britannia has no moral right to criticise Sri Lanka. And Mr Rajapaksa made an oblique reference to Bloody Sunday, when 13 civilians were rubbed out in Northern Ireland by the British army in 1972. He said some investigations took 40 years to emerge, referring to an inquiry into the shootings which reported in 2010 and laid responsibility for the events on the army. Mr Rajapaksa also accused his critics of ignoring deaths during the period of the civil war. "Every day for the last 30 years people were dying... so we have stopped it," he said. "We will take our time and we will investigate into 30 years of war," he added. Mr Rajapaksa has said the end of the war has brought peace, stability and the chance of greater prosperity to Sri Lanka. Basil Rajapaksa, President Rajapaksa's brother and a senior minister in his government, had already rejected Mr Cameron's call for an inquiry, saying it "definitely" would not be allowed to take place. The government is carrying out its own investigation but denies non-combatants were killed in the last stages of the war when government troops routed Tamil Tiger rebels in their last stronghold. Posted by: Fred 2013-11-17 |
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