Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on September 22, 2021

Prez meets UN Secretary General in New YorkAssures swift action on missing persons, terror suspectsUN Secy. Gen. pledges support for inter-communal unity

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has informed the United Nations (UN) that the Tamil diaspora would be invited for discussions to resolve issues in Sri Lanka through an internal mechanism, and that he would not hesitate to grant a Presidential pardon to Tamil youths in prolonged detention upon the conclusion of the legal proceedings concerning them.

The President said that the internal issues of Sri Lanka should be resolved through an internal mechanism of the country and said the Tamil Diaspora would be invited for discussions in this regard, a press release from the Presidents Media Division (PMD) said yesterday (20).

The President made these remarks during his discussion with the United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres in New York, US, ahead of his participation at the 76th UN General Assembly (UNGA) session which will begin today (21).

The President informed the UN Secretary General that the Government would take immediate action with regard to missing persons and expedite efforts such as the issuance of death certificates. The President pointed out that many youths who were arrested as suspects over terrorist activities were released after he came to power. The President also informed that legal action would be expedited with regard to the rest of the persons who could not be released, and that he would not hesitate to grant a Presidential pardon to the Tamil youths who have been in custody for a long time, taking into account their long term detention and after the legal process was completed, a Presidential Media Division (PMD) press release said yesterday.

However, many concerned parties within the country have raised allegations about the Office on Missing Persons (OMP), alleging that it is inaccessible to many families of victims of enforced disappearances and that it has not taken any visible active steps to investigate disappearances.

The PMD statement added that the President had explained the compensation paid to the victims, the transfer of lands back to the owners, the massive development carried out in the Northern and Eastern Provinces since 2009 under the guidance of the then President and incumbent Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, and the opportunity given to democratically elect representatives to the Northern Provincial Council.

The President also told Guterres that there are no attacks on protesters under his government and that a separate area has been set aside for protesters near his office.

The President stated that his objective is to strengthen the democracy in Sri Lanka and accordingly, there are no baton attacks or use of water cannons on protesters under his government, and that a separate area has been set aside for protesters near his office. President Rajapaksa also explained the engagement with civil society organisations to bring about development and reconciliation in the country, the PMD statement further said.

Guterres had recalled fond memories of his previous visits to Sri Lanka and assured the President that the UN will provide its full support to Sri Lanka in moving forward to promote unity among different communities, according to the PMD statement.

Read more here:

Tamil diaspora to be invited for talks - nation.lk - The Nation Newspaper

Category: Diaspora
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