Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe claimed the island’s enduring problems with human rights abuses have been “resolved” since parliamentary elections in August 2015.
In an interview with The Hindu, Mr Wickremesinghe reflected back on his government’s achievements. “We had incurred a heavy national debt, there was adverse publicity for Sri Lanka, and human rights was a big issue,” he said. “All those have been resolved.”
“I would say we have sort of created the stability and cleared the way.”
The prime minister went on to state that international demands for accountability for mass atrocities committed during the final stages of the armed conflict have also settled since his government came into power. When asked whether pressure from the international community on accountability had “moderated or have quietened down,” Mr Wickremesinghe responded,
“Yes, we also co-sponsored the [UNHRC] resolution. I can’t see a major hitch on that.”
Speaking on claims by the opposition that Sri Lanka was threatened by separatism, the prime minister responded by saying “we’re all patriots, we’re all nationalists… So we have no problem dealing with anyone who wants to raise that cry”.
“They will find that people don’t accept it,” he added. “What we will decide on the nature of the state and other issues will be acceptable to everyone. We are politicians.”
See his full interview here.