SL’s envoy in London clarifies Irish Times report

By Sujeeva Nivunhella in London

There has never been a situation in Sri Lanka’s electoral history where a party or person voted out at elections refusing to accept the people’s verdict, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in London, Ms. Saroja Sirisena says in a clarification to the Irish Times newspaper regarding a November 12, 2020 datelined article published under the headline “Republican ‘fear of Donald Trump’ undermining US democracy, Democrats say”.

The Irish Times published the High Commissioner’s clarification in its November 18, 2020 edition.

There were some inaccurate facts about Sri Lanka in the article, the envoy said, citing a statement by the former president of Ireland and chair of The Elders, Mrs Mary Robinson: “It is shocking to have to raise concerns about US democratic processes as The Elders have previously commented on volatile and undemocratic situations in states such as Kenya, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.”

Sri Lanka is one of Asia’s oldest and uninterrupted democracies, where universal suffrage was granted in 1931. Successive governments in Sri Lanka have always been elected democratically at elections held in a timely manner and subsequent transfer of power has always been swift, smooth, and peaceful. Therefore, Mrs. Robinson’s reference to Sri Lanka is inaccurate and unacceptable, Ms. Sirisena said.