[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 8885-8886]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                            MORNING BUSINESS

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                               SRI LANKA

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I want to speak briefly about recent 
developments in Sri Lanka where the new government of President 
Maithrapala Sirisena has taken several important and encouraging steps 
to promote good governance, human rights, and reconciliation since his 
election on January 8.
  Among the government's initial accomplishments are the adoption of 
the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which curtails the extensive 
powers enjoyed by the executive and vests more power in the Parliament, 
limits the Presidential term to 5 years instead of 6, allows the 
President to hold office only for two terms instead of an unlimited 
number of terms, and provides for a Constitutional Council to make 
appointments to independent commissions on the judiciary, police, 
public service, elections, and audit, instead of the President as was 
previously the case. In addition, the right to information has been 
included as a fundamental right in the Constitution.
  Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera has wisely called 
the attention of the Parliament to the need to review the individuals 
and entities that were listed under a U.N. regulation pursuant to U.N. 
Security Council Resolution 1373, adopted shortly after the 9/11 
attacks. The regulation was used to ban several Tamil diaspora groups 
for their alleged links to the LTTE. However, the new government 
reportedly believes that some individuals and organizations may have 
been wrongly accused of terrorist links when they were merely 
advocating in support of their rights. The government intends to review 
the list in the interest of reconciliation and reaffirming its 
commitment to freedom of expression.
  I am also encouraged that the government has revived its relationship 
with the United Nations, including with the U.N. Human Rights Council, 
and has invited the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit 
Sri Lanka. I hope such a visit takes place soon.
  The Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation 
and guarantees of non-recurrence visited Sri Lanka in March-April 2015, 
and I understand that the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary 
Disappearances will visit Sri Lanka in August.
  For years, impunity for serious crimes has been the norm in Sri 
Lanka. The government is working to establish what it describes as a 
``domestic mechanism'' to deal with accountability for human rights 
violations. A purely domestic mechanism, however, is not likely to be 
sufficient. The Sri Lankan people, the United States and other 
governments, the United Nations, and international human rights groups 
have long called for justice for the victims of atrocities committed by 
the armed forces and the LTTE during the 30-year conflict. It is 
essential that the justice process is not only about truth telling, but 
is a credible, independent mechanism with authority to investigate, 
prosecute, and appropriately punish those responsible for war crimes 
and crimes against humanity, on both sides.
  It is also important to the development of a credible accountability 
mechanism and to the success of this endeavor that Sri Lankan officials 
consult with local civil society organizations, including the families 
of the war's victims. They should also invite international bodies, 
such as the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, to 
take part in this process, to provide technical assistance as well as 
substantive input and help with prosecutorial work, evidence-gathering, 
and judicial decision-making. A hybrid mechanism, with international 
experts involved at the prosecutorial and judicial level, will help 
ensure that the failings and cynicism associated with past domestic 
accountability mechanisms are not repeated.
  I am told that the government intends to work with humanitarian 
organizations on the issue of missing persons, including forensics, and 
to resolve the cases of remaining detainees. The United States and 
other international groups could assist this important humanitarian 
effort.
  Under the government of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Armed 
Forces day was ``Victory Day'', a divisive, provocative celebration for 
the Sinhalese majority. President Sirisena, in his Armed Forces Day 
speech on May 19, said the policy of the new government will be 
``development and reconciliation'', making clear the government's 
recognition that development projects alone will not heal the wounds 
and scars of the past. He also affirmed

[[Page 8886]]

that the reconciliation process must involve truth seeking, justice, 
eliminating fear and suspicion among all communities and building trust 
among them, as well as the rebuilding of infrastructure. He expressed 
confidence that the Armed Forces would now dedicate themselves to the 
government's policy on reconciliation.
  The return of land in the north and east currently occupied by the 
Armed Forces, and the resettlement of Tamils displaced by the war and 
the provision of basic services, is an urgent necessity. Some land in 
the east that had been allocated by the previous government for 
infrastructure projects has been released by President Sirisena for the 
resettlement of the displaced, and a small amount of land in the north 
has been provided to civilians who were uprooted by the war. But this 
is only a beginning. Sri Lanka is at peace, so it is time for the Armed 
Forces to return land, support the resettlement of families, and focus 
on external threats rather than domestic policing.
  Unlike the previous government which vilified its critics and locked 
up after sham trials journalists who exposed corruption, President 
Sirisena has taken steps to reaffirm freedom of the press by unblocking 
media websites, inviting exiled journalists to return to the country, 
and ensuring freedom of expression for the media to operate without 
fear of reprisal.
  Under the previous government, Sri Lanka's judicial system was 
politicized, manipulated, and corrupted. The new government is taking 
steps to reestablish the independence of the judiciary, which is 
fundamental to any democracy. Also significant was the appointment of 
the Chief Justice who is from the minority Tamil community immediately 
after the election of the new government.
  The government has committed to fight corruption and ensure 
accountability for financial crimes even for the most influential and 
powerful individuals, to end impunity at any level. It has established 
a Stolen Assets Recovery Task Force for this purpose. The United States 
is prepared to assist these efforts and those of civil society to 
combat corruption.
  These are very encouraging steps for which we should commend 
President Sirisena. They should have been carried out by the previous 
government, but instead former President Rajapaksa and his brothers 
Basil and Gotabhaya, and their close associates, sought to dismantle 
the institutions of democracy, subvert the rule of law, and enrich 
themselves. Rather than support reconciliation, they encouraged 
corruption and exacerbated ethnic, religious, and political divisions.
  Of course, these are only first steps, and there have been others 
that raise questions about the government's intentions. For example, MG 
Jagath Dias, who was appointed the new Army Chief of Staff, commanded a 
regiment that took part in the final battles of the war that were 
marked by widespread abuses including summary executions of prisoners 
and in which countless civilians died, reportedly from government 
artillery shelling. If the Sri Lankan government is serious about 
addressing the crimes of the past it will need to take up allegations 
against senior officers like General Dias. Failing to address the role 
of senior military commanders, in particular those who still serve, 
would seriously weaken the government's credibility.
  Most immediately, the government's challenge is to hold parliamentary 
elections as soon as possible. Once a new Parliament is in place the 
processes of reconciliation, reconstruction, reform, and accountability 
can proceed apace.
  After the elections, President Sirisena's government will need to 
work closely with the United Nations on plans to address the legacy of 
past abuses. The U.N. Human Rights Council is expected to take up this 
issue in its September session in Geneva. Thus, the Office of the U.N. 
High Commissioner for Human Rights needs to release its report before 
then, as called for by the U.N. Human Rights Council, with 
recommendations for Sri Lanka and the international community on how 
best to achieve accountability in Sri Lanka. The government should wait 
until the U.N. report is issued before finalizing its own plans.
  Secretary of State Kerry's visit to Sri Lanka just 4 months after 
President Sirisena's election was not only symbolic of the revival of 
relations between our countries, but also illustrative of the Sri 
Lankan Government's efforts to realign its foreign relations more 
broadly. Over the last 6 years, the Obama administration has 
demonstrated leadership within the international community in 
addressing a range of issues in Sri Lanka. The administration's policy 
should follow the same trajectory and continue to play a leadership 
role.
  Likewise, the U.S. Congress has long sought to support democracy, 
development, human rights, and the rule of law in Sri Lanka. A close 
friend of mine, the late James W. Spain, one of our most able 
diplomats, served as our Ambassador in Colombo from 1985 to 1988. He 
was a devoted friend of Sri Lanka. I look forward to doing what I can 
to assist the Secretary and the Sirisena government, on behalf of all 
the people of Sri Lanka, in the months ahead.

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