UNP Provincial Council member, Shrilal Lakthilaka said the UN does not have legal right to interfere in the matters of a sovereign nation.05 May 2011
By Olindhi Jayasundere
The Government and Opposition of the Western Provincial Council yesterday unanimously resolved that the External Affairs Ministry should get the support of other countries to oppose the UN Secretary General’s advisory report on Sri Lanka.
Western Provincial Chief Minister Prasanna Ranatunge said it was vital to have the cooperation of the Opposition and to garner further support from other countries to handle the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s report. He said maximum support was necessary to defeat the advisory report.
He said that Sri Lanka was victorious after the war as was the US after the killing of Bin Laden but that Sri Lankan soldiers are being labeled as violators of human rights. “The countries backing the report are making such accusations to take advantage of our ports, crude oil and other resources that are available to the country,” he said.
Provincial Council Minister Udaya Gammanpila said that it is the US State Department that is behind this report and we must unite together to take action against it. He said if the Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe extended his support as well, 75% of the issue could be resolved.
UNP Provincial Council member, Shrilal Lakthilaka said the UN does not have legal right to interfere in the matters of a sovereign nation. He said the External Affairs Ministry could have prevented the report from being exposed but failed to do so. He said the Government always maintained that it was against the report but has still not taken any action on the matter.
He said if action is not taken now, Sri Lanka could experience the same devastation faced in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.
“This problem arose after the agreement between the UN Secretary General and President Mahinda Rajapaksa last year. It is this that has led to the problems that we face now,” he said. He said the UNP will not use the report politically to its advantage.
DM