Previous Govt. was intransigent on human rights issues: CBK

Saturday, 18 April 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga Sri Lanka’s previous Government was intransigent on human rights issues of Tamils, press freedom and human rights of even Sinhalese people, former President Chandrika Kumaratunga has said. Speaking to an Indian newspaper in Dubai while attending the Global Education and Skill Forum recently, the former President has said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Sri Lanka gave a strong message to the Sri Lankans that India would be with them in their efforts in getting good governance. “However, the signed agreements are technical in nature. I don’t know whether these will change the nature of Indo-Sri Lankan relations but they will definitely build trust that has broken down,” Kumaratunga told Kanchan Srivastava of India’s English daily ‘dna’ on the sidelines of the conference. Responding to a question regarding the new Government’s view on India voting against Sri Lanka twice in the United Nations Human Rights Council on the war crimes issue, the former President said many countries voted against Sri Lanka and there were justifiable causes for that and the countries that voted against Sri Lanka were now flexible with the new Government. “The previous Government was intransigent on human rights issues of Tamils, press freedom and human rights of even Sinhalese people. These countries have been flexible with the new Government. Publication of the UN report has been postponed for six months. This will allow us time to conduct internal investigation with the support and presence of the international community,” she said. When questioned about Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s comment that the Sri Lankan Navy could shoot the trespassing Indian fishermen, Kumaratunga said Prime Minister Wickremesinghe was joking and the people misunderstood him. “He was joking and people misunderstood him. Media persons kept harassing him with questions. In response, he just said that if an unwanted person came into his house illegally, he had a right to shoot him for trespassing,” she said. During the interview, the former President noted that Indian fishermen used illegal methods like exploding dynamite to catch fish, which was completely unacceptable. “This destroys marine life at our side. It is very frustrating for Sri Lankan fishermen. I don’t know if it is allowed in India but Sri Lanka has banned it,” she said. Addressing Sri Lanka’s relations with China, Kumaratunga said during the previous Government of Mahinda Rajapaksa, all investment projects were given to the Chinese. “Our Government, which is a coalition of two parties, believes in non-alignment and active engagement with all neighbors. We will not allow any country, however friendly they are, to exploit us,” she stressed. “India and Sri Lanka have 3,000 years of close relations. There is a lot of fondness and respect for India among our people. They also have some fear as well. In ancient times, Sri Lanka was invaded by south Indian kings 52 times. Invaders often destructed our irrigation system, leading to floods everywhere. And ours was an irrigation economy. People felt that Indians were not like us. The perception continued till the recent past, Indira Gandhi was very unwise...After Mrs. Gandhi, every Indian Government has sought to normalise relations,” the former President, said referring to the relations between the two countries.