Govt. will not change policy decision despite pressure –Yapa

The Government will not change its policy decision regardless of the pressure that is mounted on it, acting Media Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said yesterday at the Cabinet briefing held in Colombo.

He said that despite the attacks hurled at the Government in the face of the 19th UN Human Rights Council session held in Geneva recently the Government has not been affected.

In reply to a question put forward at the briefing regarding the pressure exerted on Sri Lanka by the Indian government, Minister Abeywardena said that he does not believe that India has done such a thing while adding that India was still a neighbouring friend of Sri Lanka.

He claimed that the Indian Parliamentary delegation that arrived in Sri Lanka had acted as role model diplomats and had not discredited the Sri Lankan Government or the parliament.

According to the Minister, the Indian delegation was impressed with Sri Lanka’s resettlement progress and added that apart from around 200 families who were not resettled because their lands were not completely cleared of landmines, all other displaced families had been resettled in their homes.

He also revealed that the Government was engaged in building 41,000 houses in the North and 9000 houses in the East for the displaced people.

Minister Abeywardena said that it was good that the Indian delegation visited the sites and saw for themselves, the progress that had been made.

It is however reported that Indian Opposition Leader and leader of the parliamentary delegation to Sri Lanka, Sushma Swaraj had spoken in favour of a political solution beyond the 13th amendment.

Furthermore, it was also reported that those still in the Menik Farm camp had told the Indian delegation during their visit that they did not want any facilities from the Government and that they only wanted to be allowed to go back to their homes.