Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena pledged that his government “would never bow down to any foreign power” in a speech in Colombo on Wednesday.
Speaking at the swearing in ceremony of State and Deputy Ministers at the Presidential Secretariat, Mr Sirisena said his government had faced “criticism, insults, bitter abuse and brickbats… from its very inception”.
“They said a patriotic government has been replaced in a conspiracy hatched by the Western and Imperial powers with a government that danced to the tune of the West,” he added, before declaring,
“Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and I are ready to answer to those allegations in the future. I must tell them that this government would never bow down to any foreign power or succumb to any pressure as we have a tradition, culture and civilization we can look up to”.
“We would never intend to put a black mark on that great history to the day we breathe our last,” the president emphasised.
He also stated that "ours is a stable and a strong government. No one will be able to overthrow or weaken it".
“Some people are saying that this Government will not last long. Some are saying this Government can be toppled soon. Do not expect a new Government before 2020,” Mr Sirisena added.
His comments come as Sri Lanka prepares for the UN Human Rights Council session later this month, where a report on mass atrocities committed on the island is set to be released.