United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s discussions with President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday “focused on the need to move forward expeditiously on outstanding issues covered in their joint statement of May 2009,” an official spokesman in New York said.
The May 2009 joint statement came after the UN Secretary General visited Sri Lanka last year in the aftermath of the military defeat of Tiger guerrillas. According to the UN spokesman, the issues included “particularly a political settlement, reconciliation and accountability.”
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| President Rajapaksa meeting UN Chief Ban Ki-moon in New York |
Mr. Ban has said President Rajapaksa’s strong political mandate provided a unique opportunity to deliver on his commitments to address these issues.
“The President underlined that development and education in the North were integral to national reconciliation. He gave examples of progress made on reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in this regard,” the spokesman added. He said President Rajapaksa had “updated the Secretary General on the work of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission.”
President Rajapaksa met Mr. Ban on the fourth day of his visit to New York to attend the UN General Assembly Sessions which he addressed.
Ahead of his visit, the External Affairs Ministry had in August this year advised Sri Lanka diplomatic missions in Australia, Brazil, France, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Malaysia, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, South Korea, Russia, South Africa, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Britain and Vietnam to seek meetings with heads of states or government of those countries attending the General Assembly sessions. However, only a few engagements materialized.
A request had also been made through the Sri Lanka Embassy in Berlin for President Rajapaksa to call on German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
However, that had not materialized, prompting President Rajapaksa to meet Ms Merkel during a reception she hosted for heads of state whilst in New York.
The Sunday Times learns there has been no follow-up action by either the heads of mission or the External Affairs Ministry with regard to requests for meetings. As a result, only meetings with leaders of Turkey, Qatar, Jamaica and Norway materialized.
The only significant meeting, External Affairs Ministry sources say, is the one President Rajapaksa held with Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg of Norway. Its International Development and Environment Minister Erik Solheim, who was special envoy on the Sri Lankan peace process, was also present. The meeting, these sources said, bodes well for Sri Lanka to rope in a country that had been involved in the orchestration of the creation of Kosovo and the referendum in Sudan.
These sources add that Norway is now warming up to Sri Lanka and plans to get involved in development projects. The meeting drew harsh criticism from the Tamil groups living abroad.
Sri Lankan delegates attending the UNGA complained of poor arrangements by the Sri Lanka Permanent Mission in New York.
Delegates were given mobile telephones with overseas call facilities blocked. After protests, a mission official was to restore it.As an External Affairs Ministry official put it sarcastically, the only success by the Sri Lanka mission in New York was its ability to borrow passes from other missions accredited to UN.
These were used by Sri Lankan delegates. Parliamentarians A.H.M. Azwer and Sajin Vaas Gunawardena occupied seats allotted to the Tonga delegation.
The official also noted that the mission had failed to ensure that members of the other delegations were present when President Rajapaksa spoke. The turnout had been poor with several empty seats.
No-faith motion
on Oct. 7
By Chandani Kirinde
The no-confidence motion against External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris will be taken up for debate in Parliament on October 7.
The motion signed by United National Party MPs John Ameratunga, Ravi Karunanayake, Lakshman Kiriella and Wijeyadasa Rajapakse has been listed on the order paper for that day.
The date for the debate was decided at the party leaders’ meeting held last week.
The no-confidence motion has been brought on the grounds that the External Affairs Minister has forfeited the confidence of the House by failing to uphold and preserve the reputation and good name of this country internationally.
This has resulted among other things in the Secretary General of the United Nations appointing a Panel of Experts to advise him on human rights violations in Sri Lanka. The motion also refers to the minister making several contradictory statements regarding the real position and the steps taken by the Government of Sri Lanka in respect of these matters.
Another charge levelled at the minister is that his failure to handle the situation correctly led to the suspension of the General System of Preference (GSP) to Sri Lanka. The motion also charges that he overstayed a visit to China and thus abused the hospitality of the host country.
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