Sri Lanka’s Housing and Construction Minister Sajith Premadasa said there is “no such thing” as a hybrid court being implemented on the island and vowed to “safeguard our motherland”.
Speaking at a public meeting at Uduwila, Mr Premadasa, who was appointed deputy leader of the UNP last year, said:
"Our enemies try to mislead people by talking of a hybrid court. There is no such thing. We are not going to undermine the supremacy of the judiciary of our country.”
The minister went on to criticise the former government led by Mahinda Rajapaksa for reportedly agreeing to investigate mass atrocities committed during the final phase of the armed conflict.
“The country was betrayed by former rulers when they signed an MoU with General Secretary of the UN Ban Ki-moon several days after the completion of war against the LTTE promising to permit an international investigation,” said Mr Premadasa. “That document would go down in history as the biggest betrayal of security forces of this nation before international community.”
“We do not have such hidden agendas,” he added. “Our targets are clear and we are dedicated to safeguard our motherland."