19 March, 2024

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Five Lies In Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Statement On OHCHR Report

By Niranjan Rambukwella

The Member of Parliament from Kurunegala, Mahinda Rajapaksa, recently released a statement explaining his position on the recently released United Nations investigation into allegations of human rights abuses and crimes that occurred during and after the war in Sri Lanka. His statement contained five major factual inaccuracies.

Mahinda1. “The investigation on Sri Lanka was not carried out by an independent Commission of Inquiry but for the very first time, by the OHCHR.”

This was not the first time the OHCHR has carried out an investigation. Other investigations include the OHCHR investigations into Darfur in 2004, and the investigations on Afghanistan and Kyrgystan. These were all carried out by the OHCHR.

2. “Similarly, I too had to go against the wishes of certain powerful nations to defeat terrorism and bring peace to this country.”

The LTTE is banned in the United States, EU and India. The US and India both provided vital intelligence, training and military equipment that played a critical role in the defeat of the LTTE. EU countries also assisted with training and equipment. There is no basis for saying that these countries did not want the LTTE defeated.

3. “Some politicians have been telling the people that all these international initiatives are based on my joint communiqué with the UN Secretary General of 23 May 2009. I see that as a deliberate attempt to mislead the people and seek justification for their own cooperation with interventionist foreign forces.”

These are the words of the Mahinda Rajapaksa-Ban Ki-moon Joint Communique, “The Secretary General underlined the importance of an accountability process for addressing violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. The Government will take measures to address those grievances .” Dayan’s famous congratulatory but self-defeating resolution in 2009, made this promise to the whole world, it “welcomes the visit to Sri Lanka of the Secretary-General of the United Nations at the invitation extended by the President of Sri Lanka, and endorses the joint communiqué issued at the conclusion of the visit as well as the understandings contained therein;”

4. “The most that can be done with a report of this nature is to recommend the setting up of a war crimes tribunal and that has been done.”

The report could have done a great deal more than recommend a tribunal. It could have recommended referral to the Security Council, it could have named individuals and it could have recommended an international tribunal. It could even have recommended economic sanctions.

5. “Some appear to believe that had my government still been in power, this report may have led to economic sanctions being imposed on Sri Lanka. However, neither the UNHRC nor the OHCHR can impose economic sanctions on a country.”

As these are UN reports and taken very seriously by the entire world, if the OHCHR recommended sanctions, it is very likely that the economy would have been in tatters. The OHCHR report would have led to many governments considering sanctions. The little investment Sri Lanka received would have dried up, tourist arrivals would decline, the interest rates Sri Lanka pays would rise and access to concessionary finance would be even more difficult. Moreover, it would make it very difficult for the US and EU, which account for over half our exports, to not have targeted sanctions and travel bans. In a couple of years the Rajapaksas lost GSP+, with a damning report recommending economic sanctions, the Sri Lankan economy would have been in free fall.

The question we need to ask is, why does Mahinda keeping lying to us?

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Latest comments

  • 53
    12

    It is lies that brought him to power. It is lies that kept him in power. AND it is lies that will keep him out of jail. So lie MR, it is in your blood. After all you are one from beyond the Benthara Ganga.

    • 11
      5

      Niranjan Rambukwella –

      RE: Five Lies In Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Statement On OHCHR Report

      “The Member of Parliament from Kurunegala, Mahinda Rajapaksa, recently released a statement explaining his position on the recently released United Nations investigation into allegations of human rights abuses and crimes that occurred during and after the war in Sri Lanka. His statement contained five major factual inaccuracies.”

      Mahinda Rajapaksa, MaRa MaRa Chatu MaRa Lies. This is not news. It is continuing standard operating procedure for him.

      He knows that there are Modayas, Mootals and Fools who will believe him. Based on the last election that was 42% of the population.

      The Average IQ of that group is 65, and the population average IQ is 79.

      Until the Modayas, Mootals and Fools, the audience of MaRa MaRa Chatu MaRa gets common sense, he will lie, lie and lie.

      If you sing, the following, you will understand..

      MaRa MaRa Chatu MaRa
      MaRa MaRa Amana Mara
      MaRa MaRa BoRu MaRa
      MaRa MaRa Dhushana Mara

      Remember, still 25% of the Americans, 34% of the Europeans, and 42% of the Sri Lankans, believe that the Sun goes around the Earth.

    • 13
      3

      Excellent points, Niranjan!

      Please translate and publish in Sinhala to educate Sinhala Modayas who vote for the corrupt and criminal MR and his cronies…

      • 7
        4

        S.Modaya

        “Please translate and publish in Sinhala to educate Sinhala Modayas who vote for the corrupt and criminal MR and his cronies…”

        They will read it, see it, but will not sink into their low IQ brains.

        May be need a few ‘Thovils’ and ‘Kattadiyas”.

    • 10
      1

      AshyD

      Lying goes with the territory, after all the entire family were/are practitioners of politics.

      What do you expect from them?

  • 10
    38

    Niranjan – what you point out are mostly subjective opinions that the statement of MR is factually inaccurate. By no means have you shown or indicated that they are factually inaccurate. Even in your first point, MR is arguably correct because all the previous investigations e.g Darfur were not done by the OHCHR directly as it was done on Sri Lanka.

    • 4
      7

      policestate

      It appears after the King was dethroned, you lost your job in the Police State!

  • 30
    7

    “The question we need to ask is, why does Mahinda keeping lying to us?”

    Because,

    1. He is congenitally incline to lie or

    2. Lies paid in his climb to success or

    3. He is a born actor and has learned to live a lie or

    4. He knows we are bloody idiots.

    Dr.Rajasingham Narendran

    • 10
      4

      Dr.Rajasingham Narendran

      Answer. All the above plus more you missed.

    • 6
      3

      It is his a habit that He has never spoken a single truth in his this life or even in the previous lives nor in the next lives if he born as a human, seems to be very unlikely.

      • 0
        0

        Leel

        “It is his a habit that He has never spoken a single truth in his this life or even in the previous lives nor in the next lives if he born as a human, seems to be very unlikely.’

        MaRa MaRa Chatu MaRa is hardwired for lying with the DNA code MaRa MaRa Chatu MaRa Amana MaRa HoRa MaRa Dhushans MaRa, like the A T G C base pairs of DNA.

        The key is to get the Mootals, Modayas and Fools to understand it. Until then MaRa will keep on lying for the umpteen births, and let us hope he is reborn somewhere else.

    • 11
      3

      Dr.Rajasingham Narendran:
      The answer is, “All of the above.”

    • 3
      0

      I have always wondered what type of liar MR is. Is he a pathological liar, a compulsive liar, a congenital liar or just a careless liar. Recently I learned of the sociopathic liar, one who lies for personal gain. I think that suites him fine.

  • 21
    3

    If 5 lies in one Report,just imagine the lies and deceits during the 10 year MARA rule. Sky would have been the limit.

    This guy is an Ace crook starting from Tsunami embezzlement to the ITN fiasco.

  • 14
    4

    A complete Pumpkin with in a rice bowl, is his life style,
    Pump Kindling through lies for life!(Neurological Terms)

  • 22
    6

    Rajapaksa is a pathological liar. He lied when he killed someone and escaped punishment, he lied when he stole the Tsunami money, he lied when he said there was zero civilian deaths during the war, he lied to the people when he made promises to investigate various crimes committed by his cronies…. The list goes on and on.

    It is a shame that the present government will protect Rajapaksa from the outcome of the investigations. The war crimes were committed under his command as he was the defence minister and commander in chief during the war.

    Hopefully at least his hand in the war crimes should be exposed and documented to show that he was a war criminal and committed crimes against humanity, like Hitler, Pol Pot and their ilk.

    • 0
      0

      Well said Piranha. What are just five lies to Rajapaksa, Bensen

  • 5
    16

    Point 01 was addressed by ‘policestate’.
    02.If that were true,then what do you think Milliband and koushner were doing here?holidaying?
    03.There was no joint statement. Ban Ki Moon issued a press statement at the UNDP at the conclusion of his visit.Later ‘HE’ reffered to it a joint statment but MR or GoSL had nothing to do with it.
    04.War crimes tribunal if recommended would be essentially an international.Others you suggest were options opened to them all this time and they did not consider.
    05.Economic sanctions that would be imposed will not be UN sanctions as China and russia would not allow that, it will be US sanctions and if they wanted that they need not have all these song dance.All the countries survived US sanctions without bending to US wishes and so would we.Our exports nearly doubled after the GSP+ was withdrawn.

    Mr.Niranjan doesn’t seem to know meaning of the word lie!if not he should have been writing about the mountain of lies that unloaded on us during the past two elections.

  • 3
    3

    Politicians are liars by trade and nature. If you can lie well, you will make a good politician.

    The Rajapaksa’s lies have damaged this country, covered their crimes, and they have had no
    courage to take responsibility for their horrible actions, which have resulted in people being killed,
    communal strife, and the media harassed and intimidated. Do not expect the present lot to be that much
    better. The only hope is, since we do not have over 200 family members in the top most positions in the country, therefore there might be some checks and balances. Politicians do what is best for themselves, their families, their golayas, and hardly a thought for the people.

  • 2
    9

    Don’t be too hard on this man. He is only a “Member of Parliament from Kurunegala”.

  • 4
    10

    This writer states opinions as facts. That is clear to anyone with even a basic understanding of logic, and some intelligence of course. He clearly seems to have an agenda, probably is paid by some NGO or another. Such a guy acting like a traitor is nothing surprising. I don’t agree with many things MR did. But on this issue, I firmly hold the same views. But the question is, who are these people giving thumbs up to this traitor? Are they getting paid to do it? Are they part of the LTTE hopefuls? Or are they just lacking intelligence and are part of the masses still fooled by the idea of yahapalanaya?

  • 4
    11

    All I can ask from the Author is what have you been smoking?

  • 5
    3

    We in USA, are privileged to have a different system of Government, where Ex
    and/or defeated politicians do not interfere with the Government in Power.
    For the life of me, I cannot understand why the Ex President MR is given all
    the unwanted attention.
    All our Ex Presidents are enjoying their retirement and they are respected
    by all and sundry…As a matter of fact they are considered great national
    assets. Our Ex Presidents often-times represent the sitting president in
    important events.
    MR is an outright dishonest guy, who lead S/Lanka for over a decade and robbed the country dry. He should spend his last stages of his life in retirement.

    • 1
      4

      It must have escaped you that MR too is considered a great national asset who liberated the people from an critical affliction that has terrorised the land for 30 years. However, our memories are somewhat short-lived, being slight better than that of the goldfish.
      MR you claim is dishonest and robbed the country, but does he compare at all with the likes of Dick Cheney who planned and started a war to steal a whole nation for the US oil companies. Even his heart is not his own. It really must be a privilege to have had a part in massacring people in the ME, destroying nations, societies and ancient civilisations because ‘an army sitting at home doing nothing is rather wasteful’.

  • 4
    7

    US, Engaland and France did not want LTTE to be eliminated completely. that is why, just at the last moment arranged a surprise visit by a naval Ship as well as a helicopter in KIA to remove LTTE leaders from the battle ground.

    Niranjan has forgotten that.

    There is a point in what Mahinda Rajapakse says. They want to forget what LTTE did for thirty years and want to focus on the last few days.

    Firstly, they can not use the words WAR CRIMES.

    Because, there was not conventional wars, there weas only one party who had to obey any international rules on war.

    The other party was a terrorist group. Even the present UNHCR report acknowledges it.

    Those who lived in Sri lanka it was impossible to fight a conventional war with a terrorist group.

    • 4
      0

      Jim Softly,

      Repeatedly shelling Hospitals even WITHOUT LTTE posts, shelling food queues – are these not war crimes ? Killing Prisoners , is that not a war crime ? There are evidence for each of these crimes in the Report
      Read it
      Learn something
      Gung Ho patriotism won’t do

  • 3
    3

    Dear Jamis Appuhamy

    Your letter sickens me. Anything and everything you do not like are either LTTE or Diaspora. Why don’t you wake up man !

  • 9
    2

    Mr. Niranjan Rambukwella

    Five Lies In Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Statement On OHCHR Report:

    *** I am surprised that MR has dcided to release a statement when he has been charged with murder of Innocent Civilians under his Stewardship.
    The first time I have heard a Crimimnal trying to defend himself in Public ahead of the Trial alebeit under a Hybrid Court.

    It is even more surprising that he is trying to Justify his actions as amounting to defeating Terrorism when the Charge against him is STATE TERROORISM.

    He will be dragged out from his closet kincking and screaming and will have his day in Court.

  • 2
    3

    I think Niranjan has write behalf of Mangala Samaraweera Nirajan comment showing his ignorant but Hon. Mahinda make very big mistake He defeat LTTE and make path people to live in free. Niranja can write freely because of him, Hon. Mahind is not lie Niranjan has show’s his mentalyretaded, Hon.Mahinda saviour and protector the country and the nation.

  • 2
    3

    The lies Kurunegala MP had been telling were to convince the 45% voters who voted for him and not for the 65% intelligent voters.

    The second reason is MR’s IQ is only 55% and he is so ignorant to understand how his leas will be received by rational and intelligent people.

    After all these are not important now because he is only an MP and we know how enlightened Sri Lankan MPs are.

    We know how MR became a lawyer without even the elementary education and how his son passed the law exam.

    • 2
      5

      Do not insult for the great man in the world, Sirisena is betray him and the country his 30 cabinet is increase to 137 is this YAMAPALANAYA who is the lie, Niranjan you don’t know any thing, you stupid, you have to study more and more OHCHR report do not bark as like a street dog, question is Hon.Mahida did not bow to USA,UK.CANADA. If he bow to them as like a Siresena nothing at all, no OHCHR report

    • 8
      1

      Gamarala

      “The lies Kurunegala MP had been telling were to convince the 45% voters who voted for him and not for the 65% intelligent voters.”

      Now I know why the voters are unbelievably so stupid. Thanks for letting us know the obvious fact.

      By the way,

      65 + 45 = 110

  • 1
    1

    Actually the article in this is not true, this writer collect some news pieces and put some stupid argument.

  • 1
    0

    He is lying to the world as he comes from a family of liars, and swindlers we have seen that in his 10 year rule

  • 0
    0

    Thanks so much for these excellent points. Broad minded Sinhalese people like you are the future of SL that will take the reconciliation forward. All have to admit and acknowledge the grave crimes that have been committed, rally and make sure that justice is delivered and impunity ends in future SL and not fall prey to politicians (both tamil and sinhala) who lie to get popularity and votes.

    Gopal
    Chennai.

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