Sri Lanka reiterates rejection of UN rights investigation

Sri Lanka today voiced its opposition to the impending UNHRC's probe on alleged rights abuses during the final phase of the conflict with the LTTE, saying the investigation would set a "dangerous precedent".
Sri Lanka's opposition was stated by the island's UN Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha in Geneva today at the opening of the UN rights body's 26th session.
Aryasinha was responding to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay's opening address on the manner in which she was operationalizing the "comprehensive investigation" on Sri Lanka.
Aryasinha said Sri Lanka will not cooperate with the "so called comprehensive investigation".

He also said, "the March 2014 resolution adopted with the support of less than half the Council's membership which mandated this action, challenges the sovereignty and independence of a member state of the UN, violates principles of international law, is inherently contradictory, and is based on profoundly flawed premises inimical to the interests of the Sri Lankan people.
The resolution's lack of clarity sets a dangerous precedent and will destabilise the intricate balance in the homegrown process of national reconciliation".

The UN rights body investigation was sequel to the third successive resolution moved by the US on Sri Lanka's lack of reconciliation and accountability last March.

The two previous resolutions which India backed against Sri Lanka had called for speedier action by Colombo to achieve reconciliation with the Tamil minority.
International rights groups say some 40,000 civilians were killed by Sri Lankan troops in the final stages of the civil war that ended in May 2009 with the killing of LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran.
Sri Lanka denies that its military killed any civilians, but instead says the defeated LTTE rebels.