Govt’s explanations on impeachment not satisfactory: US

The US Government says Sri Lanka’s explanations for the impeachment of Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake have not been satisfactory, one day after External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris briefed the Colombo diplomatic corps on the impeachment process on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters in Washington, US State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland said that the US Government was in contact with the Sri Lankan Government over the impeachment issue.

“We are obviously in contact with them. I would not say that the explanations are satisfactory in terms of protecting democracy,” Nuland said during a question and answer session on 16 January.

However, the Spokesperson said that it was too soon to tell what impact the Government’s action to impeach the country’s top judge would have on US assistance to Sri Lanka.

According to Nuland, US Government assistance to Sri Lanka in 2012 amounted to US$ 27 million. There was a request for $ 16.5 million in bilateral assistance to Sri Lanka in 2013, she added.

This is the third consecutive day that Sri Lanka has featured on the daily State Department briefing agenda, with Nuland telling reporters on Monday and Tuesday that the impeachment action against Chief Justice Bandaranayake raised serious questions about the future of Sri Lanka’s democracy and remarked that the US Government was concerned about reprisals against independent thinkers in the country.

Nuland also expressed concern that the entire impeachment process would have a negative impact on Sri Lanka’s ability to attract foreign investors.

(DB)