‘Blaming Rajapaksa demons for lack of progress is a false pretence’ – GTF spokesperson
Sunday, June 26, 2016
The Sri Lankan government cannot continue to blame members of the former regime for the lack of progress in furthering accountability said the Global Tamil Forum’s spokesperson Suren Surendiran, in a piece published in Colombo Telegraph on Saturday.
“Barely four months since [the] Government of Sri Lanka internationally committing by co-sponsoring Resolution A/HRC/30/L.29 in Geneva, the U-turn came in spectacular fashion from the highest authority in the country, the President himself,” said Mr Surendiran.
“As if there wasn’t enough trust deficit between communities in Sri Lanka, this major let down, haemorrhaged the trust of Tamils in the new President and in his new coalition government.”
The GTF spokesperson went on to state that there was a “lack of political will and courage demonstrated by the Sinhala leaders including the President and the Prime Minister to engage in discourse among the Sinhala people for the need to establish the truth of what happened and the importance of accountability for the wrongs that were done against another community of their own citizens”.
“Blaming and making the Rajapaksa Demon as the main reason for the lack of progress in all or some of these concerns is by and large a false pretence,” he added. “The joint opposition is now less than 50 in a 225 Members Parliament. In reality the joint opposition haven’t demonstrated in any significant manner as a threat in any form to the current regime, so far.”
“With such trust deficit within and between communities any conciliatory and complimentary commentary even compared to the times of Rajapaksa, that may be expected from the oral update from the High Commissioner on 29 June will be a drag.”
Tamil Guardian