Colombo: A prominent Sri Lankan opposition member and rights activist has sought UN rights chief Navi Pillay's intervention for restoring his security withdrawn by the government.
Jayalath Jayawardena, a member of the now dissolved Parliament and human rights and relief official for the United National Party has written a letter to UN High Commissioner for human rights Navanetham Pillay, seeking her help in persuading the government to reverse its decision.
In the letter, Jayawardena, a doctor by profession, pointed out that the UN Human Rights Commission and Inter- Parliamentary Union have already made public declaration to the Sri Lankan government to protect the lives of human rights defenders.
This is under the UN International Covenant of Civil & Political Rights which has been ratified by the Government of Sri Lanka "since my activities as a human rights defender have exposed my life to great risk," he wrote.
The former MP wrote that he has been working as a human rights defender and was the founder Secretary General of Parliamentarians for Human Rights in Sri Lanka.
He wrote that the Inspector General of Police Mahinda Balasuriya withdrew his security, exposing his life to "great danger" on February 16 even without notifying the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka, which had in 2008 directed the police to provide him the necessary security along with a satiable backup vehicle.
According to the court's direction, the Inspector General of Police had to provide nine security officers from the police along with a backup vehicle to Jayawardena, he said.
"I will be making representations to the Court of Appeal with regard to this and I will be very thankful to you if you could take whatever appropriate action that you could take to protect my life as a human rights defender," the letter said.
Pillay during a meeting with Sri Lankan government delegation earlier this month had welcomed the progress of the country in developing a National Action Plan for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (NAP).
Pillay had stressed the importance of improving the country's human rights situation in the post-conflict and post-electoral context.
Since Parliamentarians in Sri Lanka lose their entitlement to official security once the House is dissolved, many opposition members have moved the court on the plea that their life could be under threat during campaigning for the April 8 Parliamentary Elections.
Sri Lankan government has maintained that except for the ministers and those MPs facing threat, other MPs lose their privilege to security once the parliament is dissolved.
Interestingly many of the ruling United People Freedom Alliance members are ministers having been rewarded after crossing over from other parties and will continue to enjoy the rights of security even in an dissolved House.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, February 21, 2010, 14:04