Petition filed at Human Rights Commission over Port City
Tuesday, 24 February 2015 01:24
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A petition was filed at the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) yesterday against the Colombo Port City project by environmental groups.
The environmental groups said that the human rights of the public, including fishermen, had been violated as a result of the Chinese-funded project.
They also alleged that an initial environment assessment report issued by a leading Sri Lankan university, which had cleared the project, was issued with the involvement of the Chinese.
The environmental groups said that they would stage a protest in Colombo against the project with the participation of fishermen and others. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had recently said that the Colombo Port City project is still under review and a final decision has yet to be taken.
He said that there had been several concerns and allegations over the project, including allegations of corruption and a special committee was still investigating those concerns.
Speaking in Parliament, the Prime Minister said that he had recently informed the Special Envoy of the Government of China, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, Liu Jianchao, that Sri Lanka would not allow any corrupt deals to proceed.
He said that China also stood firmly against corruption. Wickremesinghe however noted that the Government wanted to further strengthen its ties with China and would not allow the Port City project issue to come in the way. (Colombo Gazette)
