Do not open floodgates of external interventions - SL envoy

Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in India, Prasad Kariyawasam, asked India not to not to open the floodgates of external intervention as it might engulf not just Sri Lanka but the entire South Asia.

“Creating precedence for external intervention is not a good idea and India could be at the receiving end from such multilateral platforms in future,” the High Commissioner said in an interview with THE WEEK.

Referring to the UNHRC resolution, the High Commissioner said the resolution of the United Nations Human Rights Council was uncalled for as it does not take into account all the progress that Sri Lanka has made since the end of the conflict. “This is becoming an annual ritual to humiliate Sri Lanka and play great games around Lanka and the Indian Ocean,” he said.

The Sri Lankan High Commissioner said Sri Lanka has invited leaders from Tamil Nadu to visit the country and assess the situation for themselves, however no political party from Tamil Nadu has responded so far.

“India’s political leaders, especially from Tamil Nadu, have not visited Sri Lanka in the last four years despite repeated invitation from us. That is why we say they are misinformed,” Kariyawasam said. On the recent attacks on Sri Lankan citizens and establishments in Tamil Nadu, he said they are being carried out by a very small number of people, “but it can be described as a form of terrorism”.