Ranil accuses Govt. of policy change on resolution and US relations

By Ashwin Hemmathagama

– Our Lobby Correspondent

The Government is changing its policy of engagement with the United States which includes accepting the recently adopted resolution pushing for reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka, the country’s main opposition party claimed in Parliament yesterday.

Speaking in parliament, Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe said there were signs that the Government was attempting to repair its relationship with the US which was not rocky, by accepting the HRC resolution No. A/HRC/22/L.1.

Raising questions under Standing Order 23(2), Wickremesinghe called on the Government to clearly articulate its change in policy in relation to the US. He said the Government position is seen as contradictory to statements made by Sri Lankan Ambassador to the US, Jaliya Wickramasuriya and reported in the Congress Blog, ‘The Hill’, on 27 March 2013.

“Soon after the Resolution No. A/HRC/22/L.1 ‘Promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka’ was adopted, Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe  is reported to have said that the Government of Sri Lanka does not concur with the resolution or its contents and the reconciliation programme initiated by the Government is at a satisfactory level. The Government’s official position was that Sri Lanka is being selected for this kind of attention not because of the gravity of the problem, but for other reasons which have absolutely nothing to do with moral or ethical considerations and I say directly that they are considerations of a political nature,” Wickremesinghe recalled.

He said that in the Congress blog post, Ambassador Wickramasuriya had claimed the following: “We agree that while much has been accomplished since 2009, more needs to be done.”

“This has not been contradicted to date and therefore can be accepted as reflecting the official Government position,” Wickremesinghe told Parliament.

The Opposition Leader said that the Ambassador had also claimed that the commitment is not only to democracy, but also to respecting the rule of law and principles of sovereignty. Wickremesinghe said that this was clearly in line with the UNHRC resolution which welcomes and acknowledges the progress made by the Government of Sri Lanka in rebuilding infrastructure, demining, resettling the majority of internally-displaced persons, and noting nonetheless that considerable work lies ahead in the areas of justice, reconciliation and resumption of livelihoods, and stressed the importance of the full participation of local populations, including representatives of civil society and minorities, in these efforts.

He said that Ambassador Wickramasuriya’s comments reflect item three of the resolution which calls upon the Government of Sri Lanka to implement effectively, the “constructive recommendations made in the report of the LLRC”.

“This is a change of policy which amounts to accepting the Resolution No. A/HRC/22/L.1 and signals a desire to broaden the relationship with the United States,” Wickremesinghe said.

He said the media had also commented on the issue over the weekend.  

Wickremesinghe also asked if the Government would inform the House of the venue for the anticipated talks with the US, the Government’s policy with regard to consulting all concerned stakeholders before proceeding, indicating a time frame in which of the recommendations of the LLRC are to be implemented, and whether the discussions will be confined to the US Government or will it include India, the United Kingdom and the other countries who voted to adopt the resolution.