Govt cannot fund CoI video conferencing

By Jamila Najmuddin

The government is yet to accept a proposal by foreign countries to fund the stalled video conferencing facility of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI), Daily Mirror learns.

According to sources, three foreign countries had offered to provide funding for the video conferencing facility to obtain evidence from witnesses now living abroad. However the government had refused to accept the funds as the countries had wanted to release the monies in the form of aid.

“The CoI cannot be funded by aid. Although one of the main reasons for the temporary suspension of video conferencing is the lack of funds, we cannot accept aid from foreign countries in order to go ahead with collecting evidence from witnesses living abroad,” a government official said.

CoI Chairman Nissanka Udalagama told Daily Mirror that foreign funding was solely decided by the Foreign Ministry and countries that wished to fund the stalled video conferencing facility could do so after approval by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. “No country or embassy should contact the CoI direct. They have to come through the government,” Justice Udalagama said.

He added: “One of the reasons for the temporary suspension is the lack of funds. Video conferencing at this end was funded by the presidential secretariat; it is the lack of funds at the witnesses’ end that has caused the suspension. This was earlier funded by the IIGEP.”

Video conferencing involving witnesses living abroad was temporarily suspended on the directive of President Mahinda Rajapaksa on June 2.