Rajiva Wijesinha

“ We must try to stop or limit abuses, but we must not confuse the abuses in ways that might be taken advantage of by terrorists or even by poor power-hungry politicians who believe that condemning our forces is the surest way to return to responsibilities they failed to live up to in the past. Unthinking criticism by idealists such as Shanie add grist to the mill of more insidious rent-seeking critics, and thereby to more destructive forces. ”

“ But I stand by what I have always said, that indiscriminate criticism of our forces in action is totally unacceptable, and it is precisely the confusion about what exactly is wrong that has led to sometimes confrontational approaches that do not help to remedy the situation. ”

“ But to get back to the main point, I still do not understand why Shanie insists on claiming that I refuse to accept that there have been unjustified extra-judicial killings. As we have explained again and again, we recognize that human rights abuses do occur in Sri Lanka, and that is why we engage so actively with for instance Special Rapporteurs who help us by drawing attention to them and suggesting ways in which the situation can be improved. ”