In a US State Department Daily Press Briefing this week, Spokesperson Victoria Nuland has stated that if Sri Lanka was not “forthcoming” in steps towards accountability, then the international community will examine other steps that can be taken.
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See question from 35 mins 45 seconds |
Responding to a question querying the next steps the Sri Lankan government should take, Nuland responded,
“They should implement the plan that they have never implemented. They should listen to the words of the international community. As you know, we welcome the passage of this new resolution; 24 other countries also voted for it. We call on the Government of Sri Lanka to fulfill its obligations to its own people. The resolution very clearly expresses the support of the international community for Sri Lanka, addressing its outstanding issues related to reconciliation and for meeting its obligations for accountability, which it has not yet done.”
Stating that the Sri Lankan government could have avoided this resolution, Nuland went on to say,
“I said that we had made clear, including when senior Sri Lankans had visited Washington, that if they didn’t take steps that they could – would see this kind of a resolution coming forward. That was about six months ago, and we didn’t see any progress.”
When asked how the international community would enforce the recently passed resolution, she responded,
“Again, we want to see the Sri Lankans take their own decisions. As we’ve said before, if those are not forthcoming, the international community will look at whether there are other steps we can take.”
The final question on Sri Lanka asked on whether a similar resolution would be passed next year if Sri Lanka cointuined to fail to act. Nuland stated,
“No. We have talked in the past about whether there ought to be an international effort on this front rather than a Sri Lankan-led effort.”
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