Was Sri Lanka instrumental in getting Palestine 'Observer State'? Rajapaksa sends best wishes

Several weeks ago Ambassador Dr. Palitha Kohona submitted a comprehensive report to the United Nations Secretary General's office in particular and all member states in general for their perusal in his capacity as the chair of the (UN) Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories.

Dr. Kohona is also the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, and he has had a special mandate from his nation's president Mahinda Rajapaksa who has a very long history - well exceeding forty years - of championing the 'Palestinian Cause' meaning the establishment of an independent, sovereign and free State of Palestine.

The 'Kohona Report' undoubtedly perturbed the Office of the UN Secretary General while helped member nations of the World Body to give a different and new look at the issue of a Palestinian state.

The report noted, as Dr. Kohona described in his statement that "The Committee was seriously disturbed by the situation in the occupied territories. At the time of our visit in July, in the light of the testimony received by the Committee, we were of the view that the situation on the ground, especially in Gaza, was unsustainable and that renewed violence was likely unless measures were taken immediately to ameliorate the conditions."

What disturbed the committee obviously extended to the Member Nations to give a fresh look at the core issue of Palestine.

What was underscored by Ambassador Kohona was "The Committee called on Israel, consistent with its international law obligations to adopt, the recommendations among others, relating to the arrest, detention and sentencing of Palestinian children, the demolition of Palestinian homes, the violence against Palestinians by Israeli settlers, and the blockade of Gaza. Similarly, the Committee called on Palestinian armed groups to comply with international humanitarian law and cease the indiscriminate firing of rockets and mortars into Israel. "

If Dr. Kohona's brief statement to the World Body was a disturbing factor one may wonder how his comprehensive report disturbed the Member Nations and the Secretary-General's office.

The question is how instrumental this Kohona Report' was for an overwhelming number of Member Nations to give a fresh look at the Palestinian issue which culminated last Thursday, 29 November to award Palestine its rightful 'birth certificate' as much as the World Body 65 years ago gave the 'birth certificate' to Israel giving birth to a new Israeli nation.

Among the leaders of the UN Member Nations Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapaksa can get the supreme credit for being the foremost and earliest political activist, when he was a young parliamentarian in the seventies, to have advocated, fought in many international forums, and providing cogent arguments for an independent, sovereign and free nations for the Palestinian people.

As much as Ambassador Palitha T.B. Kohona's comprehensive report was instrumental in giving an overwhelming UN Member Nations to have a fresh look at the issue, Sri Lanka's president Mahinda Rajapaksa can breathe a sigh of relief that his over forty-year advocacy has brought dividends last Thursday at the World Body when he declared in a special statement "Every possibility for peace, with a view to ultimately establishing an independent State of Palestine, existing peacefully, side by side with Israel, must be actively pursued. Thus, the peace process needs to overcome its current impasse. Resolving this issue will also bring about peace in the entire Middle East. The political unity and economic advancement of the Palestinian people will contribute to the viability of the Two State solution, which Sri Lanka resolutely supports, in accordance with the UN resolution."

Mr. Rajapaksa reminded Sri Lanka's solidarity: "The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People serves to remind the international community that the Palestinians are still denied their right to self-determination, independence and sovereignty, and dispossessed from much of their land. The people of Sri Lanka have steadfastly stood with the Palestinian people in their decades long struggle for justice, and the fulfillment of their inalienable rights and will continue to do so. "

The Sri Lanka president in conclusion said: "Palestinian Authority, despite severe political and economic constraints, has made progress in institution-building.

Message of Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

29 November 2012

The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People serves to remind the international community that the Palestinians are still denied their right to self-determination, independence and sovereignty, and dispossessed from much of their land. The people of Sri Lanka have steadfastly stood with the Palestinian people in their decades long struggle for justice, and the fulfillment of their inalienable rights and will continue to do so.

Every possibility for peace, with a view to ultimately establishing an independent State of Palestine, existing peacefully, side by side with Israel, must be actively pursued. Thus, the peace process needs to overcome its current impasse. Resolving this issue will also bring about peace in the entire Middle East. The political unity and economic advancement of the Palestinian people will contribute to the viability of the Two State solution, which Sri Lanka resolutely supports, in accordance with the UN resolution. We are pleased that the Palestinian Authority, despite severe political and economic constraints, has made progress in institution-building.

Sri Lanka supports Palestine’s application for admission as a full member in the United Nations.

"Sri Lanka supports Palestine’s application for admission as a full member in the United Nations."

But one could get a glimpse of the comprehensive report Ambassador Kohona submitted to the World Body several weeks ago that has had some impact to change the dynamics of the Palestinian Issue in the statement he made to the United Nations about the findings of his committee which we carry below:

(Begin) I am honoured to speak today in my capacity as the Chair of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories. The observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People at the General Assembly underscores the international community’s commitment as well as the responsibility to achieve a comprehensive peace in the Middle East. Peace in the Middle-East has eluded us for far too long and it is a sad commentary on humanity that we have failed in this pressing task.

A few weeks ago, I presented the 44th report of the Special Committee examining the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory and the occupied Syrian Golan. The Committee was seriously disturbed by the situation in the occupied territories. At the time of our visit in July, in the light of the testimony received by the Committee, we were of the view that the situation on the ground, especially in Gaza, was unsustainable and that renewed violence was likely unless measures were taken immediately to ameliorate the conditions. The events of the past few weeks would seem to support the conclusions of the Committee.

The continued demolition of homes and the resultant displacement of Palestinians, the blockade of Gaza and the consequent reliance on illegal smuggling simply to survive, led to one deeply troubling conclusion that these practices would amount to a strategy to either force the Palestinians off their land or to so severely marginalize them as to establish and maintain a system of permanent occupation.

The Committee was especially concerned about the condition of Palestinian children detained by Israel who do not benefit from the basic legal, judicial or social safeguards to which they are entitled under international law. Between 500 and 700 Palestinian children are arrested every year. The Committee was particularly disturbed to learn that 12 per cent of these children were kept in solitary confinement.

The Committee called on Israel, consistent with its international law obligations to adopt, the recommendations among others, relating to the arrest, detention and sentencing of Palestinian children, the demolition of Palestinian homes, the violence against Palestinians by Israeli settlers, and the blockade of Gaza. Similarly, the Committee called on Palestinian armed groups to comply with international humanitarian law and cease the indiscriminate firing of rockets and mortars into Israel.

While we welcome the suspension of hostilities last week, we are conscious of the continuing tense situation in Gaza. The international community must not lose sight of the overarching goal of the two States living side by side in peace and security. Palestinians and Israelis could enjoy security and peace as neighbors through a political solution, with human rights at its heart.

We express our deep appreciation of those countries, especially those in the regions which played a key role in arranging the cessation of hostilities. (End)

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