‘SJB ready to help govt. overcome external challenges’

Sri Lanka had lost support at the UNHRC because its double standards had been exposed, Opposition and SJB Leader Sajith Premadasa told Parliament on Thursday. The government needed to create an environment where all communities in the country could live in peace, he said.

The Opposition Leader said: “The government needs to listen to the concerns of the people in the North and East. We lost the support of friendly nations this time around because of the double standards of the government. The government pretends that it will scrap the 13th Amendment when addressing Sri Lankans. However, before the international community, it says Sri Lanka is a multi-religious, multi ethnic and multicultural country. They have even promised 13+ to the international community. But now the international community has figured out that this is all fake”.

The recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, which was appointed by Mahinda Rajapaksa when he was the President, should be implemented. The government lost the vote on the resolution at the UN Human Rights Council as a consequence of promoting extremism in the country, he said. The Opposition Leader, however, said that the SJB did not endorse foreing interference in Sri Lanka’s domestic affairs.

“SJB opposes appointing foreign judges to investigate Sri Lanka. “We do not need advice from foreign countries,” he said.

The Opposition Leader said that Sri Lanka could address its own issues through a domestic mechanism; however, the domestic mechanism should be acceptable to the international community.

“The SJB does not endorse all the actions taken by the former government. We are willing to work with the government to ensure another resolution on Sri Lanka will not tabled at the UN Human Rights Council,” he said.