Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe wins international sup****t, rebuts Lord
Brown's criticism
The Minister of Disaster Management and Human Rights of Sri Lanka and
the head of delegation to the Seventh Session of the Human Rights
Council, Mahinda Samarasinghe joined issue with the British Minister for
Africa, Asia and the UN, Mark Malloch-Brown, this morning.
Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe in exercising his right of reply said that
Sri Lanka regretted the misconceived approach of Lord Brown as made
clear by his statement which also revealed a lack of appreciation for
the steps taken by Sri Lanka to protect human rights while dealing with
terrorism.
The full text of the statement made by the Hon. Minister is as follows:
"Sri Lanka regrets the misconceived approach of the United Kingdom's
Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, in his address to this august
Assembly. We share the concerns of many members of the international
community that such approaches only promote a growing belief that some
individuals find it difficult to let go of historical possessions.
Regrettably, Lord Malloch-Brown has allowed himself to be quoted by the
British Tamil Forum as saying that the results of the last election in
Sri Lanka were unfortunate. This re****t has not been contradicted as
yet, notwithstanding our High Commissioner in the UK bringing this to
the attention of relevant parties.
Today, the noble Lord asserted that countering terrorism requires
respect for human rights. As a practising democracy of long standing,
Sri Lanka is well aware of this and has over the years developed new
institutions that a colonial tradition failed to install. We are proud
of our record in dealing with terrorism, whilst minimizing harm to
civilians. We hope that Lord Malloch-Brown will not forget that, when
dealing with terrorism in other countries, our cir***spection in this
regard should be emulated.
The noble Lord refers to 're****ts' of problems but, in common with a few
other countries, he fails to take into account substantial improvements
in the situation in Sri Lanka. I pointed out yesterday, in response to
arbitrary assertions that the situation was deteriorating, that we are
strengthening democracy and pluralism in a manner that had proved
difficult in the past.
His sup****t for attempts to establish a UN Human Rights Office in Sri
Lanka despite a clear position enumerated to the contrary by the
Government of Sri Lanka, should be more productively replaced by a
genuine concern for human rights for all our citizens in the context of
a genuine struggle against terrorism."
The intervention occurred in the midst of a series of bilateral meetings
Minister Samarasinghe held with his counterparts from various parts of
the world. In all these meetings he was assured of the continued sup****t
of their countries for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Sri
Lanka and for its struggle against terrorism.
Among the high-level political representatives the Minister met on the
second and third days of the sessions were, Hon. Manouchehr Mottaki,
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, Hon. Anand Sharma, Minister of
State for External Affairs of India, Hon. Viktor Gaisenok, Deputy
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Hon. Manuel Lobo Antunes, Deputy
Minister for Foreign Affairs of ****tugal, Hon. Volodymyr Khandogiy,
First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine,Hon. Jan Kubis,
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia, Hon. Abdelwahed Radi, Minister
of Justice of
Morocco, Hon. Jonas Gahr Store, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway,
Hon. Gunter Nooke, Vice Minister and Commissioner of the Federal
Government of Germany for Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid, Hon.
Abdulla Shahid, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives, Hon. Frank
Belfrage, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Sweden. A meeting with
Lord Malloch-Brown was scheduled for later in the day along with several
other meetings.
The delegation of Sri Lanka comprised of the Permanent Representative of
Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva, H. E. Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka,
Secretary-General of the Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process,
Professor Rajiva Wijesinghe, Secretary to the Ministry of Justice and
Law Reform, Mr. Suhada Gamalath, Legal Advisor to the Ministry of
Defence, Mr. Mohan Peiris, President's Counsel, Deputy Inspector-General
of Police, Mr. Asoka Wijetilleka, and the Deputy Solicitor-General, Mr.
W. J. S. Fernando.
--
For genuine Situation Re****t visit:
http://www.nationalsecurity.lk
http://www.defence.lk/
http://www.army.lk/index1.php
http://www.nmatnet.com/
http://www.sinhalaya.info/index-EN.php
Worth to look following to see how brutal Tamil Tiger Terrorists are
Child Soldiers of LTTE Tamil Tiger Terrorists in Sri Lanka
http://www.spur.asn.au/childwar.htm
Ethnic Cleansing in Sri Lanka
http://www.spur.asn.au/ethnic_cleansing_in_sri_lanka.htm
LTTE TAMIL TIGER ATROCITIES
http://www.spur.asn.au/ltteatrp.htm
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