‘No outside help sought on Darusman Report’ - Minister Prof G L Peiris

Irangika RANGE and Disna MUDALIGE

External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris, yesterday stated in Parliament that the Sri Lankan government had not requested India or any other country to issue statements to reject the Darusman Report.

He observed that had Sri Lanka made such a request, it could have implied that Sri Lanka had accepted the Darusman Report.

Prof G L Peiris

The Minister was making a special statement in reply to the special statement made by DNA MP Anura Dissanayake on May 25 in Parliament.

MP Anura Dissanayake in his statement had mentioned that there were a number of facts that threatened the security and territorial integrity of the country in the mutual declaration made by Sri Lanka and India during Minister Peiris’ visit to India.

While totally rejecting the above criticism, Prof Peiris said that it was the international relations between the two countries which were being affected as a result of MP Dissanayake’s statement.

The Minister also pointed out that MP Dissanayake, had attempted to create a fear psychosis among the public regarding the mutual declaration made by the two countries.

He observed that the contents of the declaration and statement made by MP were totally contradictory.

The Minister also observed that MP Dissanayake’s claim that the mutual declaration consisted of facts regarding Kankasanturai Port and Palali Airport were totally incorrect and no word was mentioned about them in the mutual declaration. ”The declaration only paid attention to Palali-Kankasanturai railway and this was also for the welfare of the country,” he said.

The Minister also refuted MP Dissanayake’s claim that the declaration facilitated the opportunity for India to mediate in the train service and fisheries industry, as the will of India.

”The declaration had only referred to various initiatives concerning the security of fishermen and train commuters. It had also consisted of measures to enhance the cooperation between the two countries on the energy sector,” the Minister said.

Refuting MP Dissanayake’s claim that the External Affairs Minister had agreed to effect constitutional changes and also changes in the legal system, Prof Peiris said that he had only discussed to expedite the ongoing dialogue between the Government and Tamil political parties. He also said that no sentence related to a final understanding between the government and Tamil political parties had been included in the declaration.

”I went to India on the premise that I could achieve the expected results from the visit. We had wanted to confirm the support of our friendly nations concerning the Darusman Report, by clarifying the facts concerning the country.

”Even though certain Western countries had requested for an international probe into the facts of the Darusman Report, India did not stand by their side,” he explained. The minister also stressed that the government had not requested any country to reject the Darusman Report, since the country too did not accept the Report.

The minister also noted that the government neither had any pressure nor a time frame to enforce the mutual declaration.

He also criticized MP Dissanayake’s reference to ‘Indian package’ and ‘Indian dominance’, in regard to the declaration, in his statement.