Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on March 7 appeared to be on collision course with President Maithripala Sirisena over Sri Lanka’s commitment to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC)on war-time atrocities against Tamils as he reiterated the Government’s commitment to implementing the UN resolution, reports Colombo Page. The Prime Minister’s Office in a joint statement with the Foreign Ministry on March 7 said Sri Lanka will continue to demonstrate its commitment and determination towards a steady and long-lasting reconciliation process through a co-sponsored resolution. It said the Government will seek an extension of the timeline of the UHRC resolution 30/1 of October 1, 2015, through a co-sponsored roll-over resolution at the ongoing 40th session of the UNHRC.
The statement stands in contrast with President Sirisena’s comments on March 6 that he would send his own team to the UNHRC session later this month to seek a reprieve. He said the UN must allow Sri Lanka to resolve its own issues without digging into past.