June 14, 2007	Thursday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 28, 1428

COLOMBO: Amidst calls by the the United National Party (UNP) for the Sri Lankan government to resign over allegations of human rights violations, an international panel of experts in a report released this week stated that the Presidential Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights had made little noticeable headway in investigations since its inception in November.

Releasing its first public statement since its establishment in February, the International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP) expressed concern that current measures taken by the Sri Lankan government and the presidential commission to address issues such as the independence of the commission, timeliness and witness protection were not adequate and did not satisfy international norms and standards.

“We are concerned that the commission’s finances are managed by the presidential secretariat. The commission does not have financial independence enabling it to exercise control of its human resources and operations. In particular, the commission should be allocated sufficient funds to secure the permanent confidentiality, safety and integrity of its victim and witness protection scheme,” the panel under the chairmanship of Justice P.N. Bhagwati stated in its report.

The panel, in Sri Lanka to observe and monitor the work of the commission into 16 cases of human rights violations and killings has pointed out the role of the attorney general’s department as legal counsel to the commission undermined the independence and impartiality which was essential to the credibility of the commission’s work.

Meanwhile, the presidential secretariat in Colombo said in a statement that President Mahinda Rajapakse has ordered a careful study of the observations and recommendations made in the Interim Report by the International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP).

Separately, brother of President Rajapakse, Gotabaya Rajapakse who is Sri Lanka’s defence secretary, in an interview on Tuesday dismissed allegations of human rights violations levelled against the government.

The defence secretary’s comments included a justification of last Thursday’s eviction of nearly 400 Tamils from Colombo.

Meanwhile, visiting British Minister of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs, Kim Howells, referring to the international concerns of rights abuse in Sri Lanka on Tuesday warned that country was running the ‘risk of isolation’.