The UNP said today that the government should turn the UN report into a favorable one by implementing some of the recommendations made by the panel in their report.
UNP Deputy Chairman Lakshman Kiriella told a news conference today that the government should follow Israel which adopted a similar approach when they were charged of war crimes after the conflict with the Hamas group.
Mr. Kiriellla recalled that Israel implemented the recommendations made by a panel appointed by the UN after the war in Gaza strip. He said a South African judge who headed this panel had to issue another statement in which he mentioned that the situation in Israel had improved after the their recommendations were implemented.
Therefore the UNP MP said government should scrap emergency laws, relax the Prevention of Terrorism Act and issue death certificates to those who have disappeared during the war as there are the main recommendations that have been made in the panel report.
“UNP is not requesting the government to do as a party but it would be the best option to see the country through this crisis,” he pointed out.
The UNP MP charged that the government did not have any clear idea on how to deal with the issue right from the very inception. He therefore alleged that the government representatives secretly met the panel members after declaring in public that no one would meet them at any time. Mr. Kiriella also said the hierarchy of the government talked to UN Secretary General himself over the phone.
Asked whether the UNP is willing to support the government to face the situation, he said the party cannot make any comment on it as of now as the panel report is not officially published yet.
DM