Ranil asks govt. if it will talk to US

Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday demanded in Parliament that the Government reveal whether it had any intention of holding negotiations with the US on the progress of the implementation of the LLRC recommendations.Making a special statement, he demanded to know where those anticipated talks would take place, whether it would be in Washington DC, Geneva or Colombo. He also queried whether the government would consult all stakeholders before proceeding and indicate a timeframe for the
implementation of the LLRC recommendations. He asked whether the discussions would be confined to the US government or include India, the UK and the other countries which voted for the Geneva resolution on  Sri Lanka.

Full text of the Opposition Leader’s statement: Soon after the Resolution No. A/HRC/22/L.1, "Promoting reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka", on 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 officials’ 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."

Subsequently the Ambassador to the US Mr. Jaliya Wickramasuriya stated in "The Hill", the Congress Blog dated 27.3.2013, "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.

The Ambassador also stated that "commitment is not just to democracy, but also to respecting rule of law and the principles of sovereignty."

This is in line with the Resolution which states "welcoming and acknowledging 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 stressing the importance of the full participation of local populations, including representatives of civil society and minorities, in these efforts."

This in fact reflects Item 3 of the Resolution which states "call 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.

I request the Government to make a clear statement regarding the changed policy.

The media has also committed on this change during the weekend.

In particular, will this House be informed: where these anticipated talks will take place, whether it will be in Washington DC, Geneva or Colombo? Will the Government consult all the concerned stakeholders before proceeding? Will the Government indicate a time frame in which the recommendation of the LLRC are to be implemented? Will the discussions be confined to the US Government or include India, United Kingdom and the other countries who voted to adopt the Resolution?"