Following the appointment of Basil Rajapaksa to the position of Finance Minister, Germany’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Holger Seubert, meet with the Finance Minister despite ongoing human rights violations.
Earlier this year, Germany voted in favour of the UN resolution mandating the collection of evidence that could be used in a future war crimes trial. The resolution highlighted the deterioration of human rights in Sri Lanka and follows a scathing UN report which detailed the ongoing abuses in Sri Lanka.
Commenting on the meeting he tweeted:
Had a fruitful meeting with the Honorable Minister for Finance, Basil Rajapaksa, today. Touched on a number of issues of bilateral interest. Germany stands ready to support, wherever possible and reasonable pic.twitter.com/NRPTruCQc9
— Ambassador Holger Seubert (@GermanAmbColo) July 14, 2021
The Rajapaksa family is notorious for appointing family members to senior cabinet positions, with Basil Rajapaksa gaining the moniker “Mr Ten Percent” as he would demand “a ten per cent commission on every project”. The International Truth and Justice Project has produced an infographic, available here, to display nepotism in Sri Lanka.
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
