President outraged at Mangala

2016-02-28

The Head of the State and his Foreign Minister seem to stand poles apart when it comes to getting foreign expertise in the process of investigating war crime allegations.

This was evident when Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera clearly stated Sri Lanka is open to international actors in the war crimes probe and zeroed President Maithripala Sirisena's remarks on the matter as mere personal opinion.
Samaraweera made these remarks while participating a Q & A session following his address on "Advancing Reconciliation and Democracy" at a leading think-tank, the US Institute of Peace in Washington DC, on 25 February 2016.

Interestingly, Samaraweera was introduced to the audience by Nisha Biswal, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, who dubbed the Foreign Minister as a key player in the remarkable transformation in the US-Sri Lanka relationship.
"His multiple visits to the United States and other capitals, his relationship with Secretary Kerry, Ambassador Samantha Power, and his principled advocacy for restoring Sri Lanka's standing in the global community – through engagement rather than avoidance; and through cooperation rather than conflict – has won the respect of his peers and resulted in a resolution last September at the Human Rights Council in Geneva which was co-sponsored and co-introduced by Sri Lanka and the United States, along with our other international partners," she said.

Samaraweera in his address recalling his visit to Washington DC, last February, soon after the election of President Maithripala Sirisena, said much has happened and much has been achieved over the past year and described the relationship between USA and Sri Lanka has blossomed into a very special kind of friendship.

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