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David Cameron meets with Sri Lankan president

02 January 2023

Former British Prime Minister, David Cameron, met with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe during a private visit to Sri Lanka, where he reportedly extended his best wishes to the president for the new year.

 

 

Whilst little is known about what was discussed, Cameron had previously made history by refusing to shake hands with then war crimes accused Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa and meeting with Tamil Families of the Disappeared whilst visiting Jaffna.

Describing his encounter during the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), Cameron described the Rajapaksa brothers as one of “the worst-tempered foreign meeting(s)” during his tenure.

"The defence minister who had supposedly issued orders for the terrible events at the end of the war, reared out to shake my hand," said Cameron. "I kept my hands by my side, and sat down.”

Britain has played a leading role in pushing for accountability in Sri Lanka and was a leading author on the latest UN resolution that mandated for the collection of evidence that may be used in a future war crimes tribunal.

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