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Better if Samantha Power doesn't visit Sri Lanka- opposition MP

Popular opposition MP Udaya Gammanpila questioned the motives of the US Ambassadr to the UN, Samantha Power's visit to Sri Lanka, and said it would be better if she stayed away.

Mr Gammanpila, who came third in Colombo during the general election and is the secretary of the Buddhist hardline PHU, told media on Tuesday that her visit was "mysterious" and questioned whether the US saw Sri Lanka as recently conquered territory.

"She has the right to travel all over the US, which is fair enough as she is the US envoy to the UN. She may present the situation in her country to the UN as that is her job. But why is she touring Sri Lanka? Is it because the Americans see Sri Lanka as a colony which they recently conquered? Do they assume that Sri Lanka is the 51st State of the US?" he asked.

The PHU leader also said Ambassador Power would be meeting with LTTE-sympathisers while in the North-East.

"Who will she be meeting during this visit? She will meet the President, Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, Opposition Leader and Chief Minister of the North. She has authored many books and also lectures a lot on war crimes. She constantly talks about the subject."

"She is a popular figure who speaks about Human Rights. The people she will meet such as the President, Prime Minister, Foreign Minister etc are leaders of a government that appreciated the LTTE- biased report of the United Nations OHCHR. The Opposition Leader from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and Northern Province Chief Minister acted as the political representatives of the LTTE in its heyday."

He further said that Ambassador Power would not be able to get a full picture of the LTTE by meeting leaders who are biased towards the group.

"Therefore I would like to tell Samantha Power, that it would be better if she does not visit our country" he said.

Ambassador Power to visit Jaffna next week (17 November 2015)

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