{"id":36203,"date":"2012-03-28T20:30:38","date_gmt":"2012-03-28T20:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=36203"},"modified":"2012-03-28T20:30:38","modified_gmt":"2012-03-28T20:30:38","slug":"malaysia-explains-abstention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/malaysia-explains-abstention\/","title":{"rendered":"Malaysia Explains Abstention"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Sri Lanka’s problems cannot be solved overnight, and Malaysia is giving the war-torn country time to help itself, says deputy minister Richard Riot.<\/strong><\/p>\n

KUALA LUMPUR: Putrajaya has defended the decision to abstain from voting in a United Nations resolution urging Sri Lanka to \u201ccredibly investigate\u201d allegations of war crimes during the final months of its civil war there.<\/p>\n

Amongst the reasons, according to Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister Richard Riot, was that Sri Lanka\u2019s problems were too complex to solve in a short time.<\/p>\n

He said that the country, which had fought a civil war between 1972 to 2009, tabled a report investigating the war\u2019s atrocities in its own parliament on Dec 16, 2011.<\/p>\n

\u201cTaking into account 30 years of conflict and complexities of domestic issues\u2026 unfair for (the UN) resolution to impose an obligation on the government of Sri Lanka to report in just three months,\u201d he said, during the wind-up on the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong\u2019s Speech today.<\/p>\n

Riot also said that Malaysia had acknowledged Sri Lanka\u2019s national reconciliation process as a domestic issue.<\/p>\n

He added that Sri Lanka had taken the \u201cnecessary steps\u201d to share information with the international community over reconciliation and development efforts.<\/p>\n

Riot was referring to the US-led resolution which was adopted by the UN Human Rights Council on March 22. The resolution was passed with 24 votes in favour, 15 against and eight abstentions.<\/p>\n

(The countries that abstained from voting were Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia and Senegal.)<\/p>\n

In the last few months of the war, more than 40,000 people were alleged to have been killed by security forces and Sri Lankan rebel group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE).<\/p>\n

To this, the Malaysian government acknowledged that genocide had indeed taken place in the conflict-ridden country, citing a paper known as the \u201cDarusman Report\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026the report has said there were human rights violations and crimes against humanity\u2026(by the) Sri Lankan government and the LTTE,\u201d said Riot.<\/p>\n

He said that Sri Lanka\u2019s Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) confirmed the same thing, adding that the country\u2019s security forces had acted in self-defence.<\/p>\n

He also claimed that Malaysia\u2019s abstention was not a double standard and that the country did not interfere in other countries\u2019 domestic affairs.<\/p>\n

Regarding the Israel-Palestinian issue, Riot said that Malaysia was looking for a peaceful solution between the two states.<\/p>\n

He also reassured MPs present that Malaysia would give Sri Lanka a chance to prove itself.<\/p>\n

\u201c(But) if during the period of reconciliation, that they don\u2019t achieve peace, then the international community will meet and vote whether they will interfere or not,\u201d he told the House.
\n
\nBusiness deals allegation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pakatan Rakyat MPs however were not satisfied with Riot\u2019s response.<\/p>\n

Criticising the LLRC as \u201cweak\u201d, Klang MP (DAP) Charles Santiago said that the LLRC report supported the Sri Lankan government.<\/p>\n

Ipoh Barat MP (DAP) M Kulasegaran said that it was \u201cshameful\u201d for Malaysia to be one of the eight abstaining countries.<\/p>\n

\u201cI compare, these are irrelevant countries. They are substandard (in) human rights values and so forth. Can we compare to them?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo! Malaysia is entirely different. Our standard is very high, our per capita income is very high. The expectation of the world is very high and we are a member of the Human Rights Council!\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He also asked on the allegation that Malaysia\u2019s abstention was due to billion-ringgit business deals with Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

Kulasegaran claimed that there were \u201cmany big business people\u201d in league with the Barisan Nasional government who were investing in Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

In response, Riot said that matters of foreign trade did not come under his ministry and that it came under the Ministry of International trade and Industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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