Minister Mervyn Silva regrets Blake’s comment

Public Relations and Public Affairs Minister Mervyn Silva said he regretted the declaration made by visiting US Under Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Robert O. Blake and Under Secretary for Civil Security, Democracy and Human Rights Maria Ottera that the US would support a resolution against Sri Lanka on alleged war crimes at the March sessions of the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva.

Minister Silva in a statement issued yesterday said history also recorded such instances of foreign interference in Sri Lanka's internal affairs. Colonial rulers were able to capture Sri Lanka in the past because there were certain individuals who betrayed the country to foreign interventionists for the sake of positions and other personal gain. The bounden duty of all patriotic people in Sri Lanka was to follow in the footsteps of past heroes, such as, Veera Keppetipola, Puran Appu and Gongalegoda Banda and protect the President who liberated and united the country from the false allegations levelled against them by international forces.

The statement added that when the security forces launched the humanitarian operation on the direction of the President and the Defence Secretary, the LTTE launched attacks on the Security Forces taking cover behind a human shield.

But foreign forces instead of praising the restrained manner the Security Forces acted in the face of such challenges were shedding crocodile tears for the terrorists killed, in order to take revenge on Sri Lanka for eradicating the terrorist menace.

Minister Silva said the atrocities committed against civilians by Western forces in Afghanistan, Libya and Iraq have come to light. Any foreign interference in a country's internal affairs can be construed as a violation of democratic principles.

Sri Lanka has been making steady progress in development after eradicating terrorism. The people of all communities are living in peace and harmony. No one should be allowed to divide the country once again. The people should form a human chain to protect the country from unfounded allegations made by sinister foreign forces. The media has a big role to play in this respect, he said.