Burt in Sri Lanka for talks on reconciliation

Following the US decision to move a second resolution on Sri Lanka at the upcoming UN sessions, Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for South Asia Alistair Burt arrived in arrived yesterday for what is tipped to be a crucial meeting with Government officials.

The British Embassy reported Burt’s second visit to the country in a statement.

It further added that during his two-day visit, the Minister will meet senior members of the Government and Opposition parties, the business community and International Non-Governmental Organisations.

On landing Burt immediately flew to Jaffna. During his visit to the Keppapilavu relocation site, Burt “saw the continuing challenges faced daily by those who were displaced by the conflict. He expressed his hope that they would soon be able to return to their homes, or to other suitable areas. As Guest of Honour at the opening of Sri Lanka Unites’ reconciliation centre at Mulliayawelai, the Minister saw how the UK is helping to support sustainable peace in Sri Lanka,” the statement added.

In the North, the Minister also met the Mullaitivu Government Agent, Mr N Vethanayakam, and NGOs working in the area. These included the HALO Trust, a British organisation which is conducting de-mining in the North with £3 million of UK Government support

 He will also deliver a guest lecture on ‘Sri Lanka: 2013 and Beyond’ at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies.

On Monday a visiting US delegation headed by Deputy Assistant Secretary of State James Moore, announced that a fresh resolution on Sri Lanka would be moved at the UN Human Rights Council sessions next month.

Moore insisted that this was due to the Government dragging its feet on crucial human rights and reconciliation measures, which the Government has vehemently denied.

On Wednesday Sri Lanka’s External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris protested the US decision to move a second resolution at the UN insisting that it would undermine local processors for reconciliation.  He had charged at a meeting with Moor that the Government has consistently cooperated with UN agencies and voluntarily participated in the Universal Periodic Review and as such did not merit such action.

Burt’s visit also comes ahead of Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma’s visit to Sri Lanka in February.

Earlier this month Canada began to push for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be withdrawn from being hosted by Sri Lanka through the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG).

CHOGM is the highest decision making body for the Commonwealth. The Government has steadfastly denied taking any illegal means to impeach Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake who was removed from her post on 15 January.

Sharma earlier this month expressed concern over the impeachment.

“The Commonwealth’s principal consideration is that the provisions of Sri Lanka’s constitution are upheld with regards to the removal of judges, respecting the independence of the Judiciary,” Sharma was quoted as saying in a statement released by the Commonwealth Secretariat.