15.7.2008

As President Mahinda Rajapaksa has achieved something remarkable and impressive in establishing a process for the resolution of Human Rights issues, the International Community would like to help Sri Lanka as she makes progress along the lines of action initiated by the President.

This was the view expressed by Britain's Lord Malloch Brown when he met President Rajapaksa at Temple Trees this morning.

President Rajapaksa told the British Minister of State in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the UK with responsibility for Africa, Asia and the United Nations, of the success in defeating terrorism and establishing democracy in the East, and of the emphasis on development there which would send a salutary message to the people in the North. On the government's overall moves for the rehabilitation of those once engaged in terrorism, he said the present Chief Minister of the East was once a child soldier of the LTTE.

He said many people who genuinely want change in Sri Lanka, did not understand the ground realities, vis-…-vis internal politics and related pressures. Problems were there and solutions had to be political, which required final endorsement by the people at elections. There were now signs that the people were backing the changes the government was initiating, and this was best seen in the complete defeat suffered by the moves for a general strike last week.

Lord Malloch-Brown said there was room, for much optimism with the actions taken by the government to implement the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, and the changes initiated in the East. However, it appeared that more action was needed achieve the full results and benefits of the government's moves.

The President said the liberation of the East was completed on July 19, 2007and in less a year democracy had been restored there. Change will come, but they will need time was the view of the President.

Commenting on the moves to eradicate terrorism, President Rajapaksa said it was necessary to defeat the LTTE, seeing how it had continued its war of terror through talks, ceasefires and many other initiatives for peace. Lord Malloch-Brown, explaining to the President the British Government's policy of acting against terrorism said there were six pending cases within regard to illegal support for terrorist organizations and this would send a strong message to all concerned.

The necessity of having a strong institutional arrangement to safeguard Human Rights was shared by the President and the British Minister, while the President presented the case for a better understanding of the constraints that prevailed in establishing such machinery just now, but was the clear intent of the government.

On the subject of child soldiers, the British High Commissioner said the government had taken a very laudable measure in allowing free access to the camps where former child soldiers were being kept. The President said those genuinely interested were free to carry out their inquiries on the numbers of child soldiers still present, but strongly doubted that those who make allegations about this matter would give the full details to help such an inquiry, which the government was ready to support.

Lord Malloch Brown was accompanied by the British High Commissioner Peter Hayes, and the President was accompanied by Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga, Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona and Ms. Kshenuka Seneviratne, of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.