Secretary to President quashes LLRC document press report :

No commitment made to Clinton

Chamikara WEERASINGHE

* Document only a guidance paper

* Yet to determine implementable recommendations

Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga yesterday dismissed newspaper reports that he or External Affairs Minister Prof G L Peiris had submitted any document on Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) implementation to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during their official visit to Washington in May this year.

Minister Prof Peiris has repeatedly denied he had submitted any document or secret plan regarding the implementation of the recommendations made in the LLRC report since his return to the island after his meeting with Clinton.

“We are yet to determine the potentiality of recommendations in the LLRC report and which recommendations can be implemented,” said Secretary Weeratunga, who is also the head of the Cabinet-appointed Task Force overlooking the implementation of the LLRC report.

Asked to explain if it was or was not the document which came to be published by an English newspaper under the headline ‘GL- Clinton deal on LLRC implementation revealed’ that was submitted by them to Clinton, the Secretary to the President told the Daily News the article was speculative and misleading.

“ It was a guideline document prepared by me for the use of our team in Washington. It was never meant to be submitted or submitted to the US Secretary of State by us,” he said.

However, it had got to the hands of this newspaper. According to Secretary Weeratunga, the so - called document was a reference paper used among them, during the meetings with US officials. It was used for ease in making presentations. There was no submission of this paper to the US Secretary of State, he added.

Commenting on the progress of LLRC implementation, he said the Task Force is studying the recommendations.

“We will announce what recommendations could be implemented in due course. We plan to announce the short term strategy of implementation by mid July,” Secretary Weeratunga said.