A Sri Lankan government minister has hit out at France for teaching Sri Lanka about “good governance and democracy”, in the aftermath of the Paris attacks that killed 129 people.
Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said the French government, alongside other Western countries had put pressure on Sri Lanka to adhere to "good governance" during the armed conflict.
“They came to teach us about good governance and democracy,” he said. “They claimed that since there is no reconciliation in Sri Lanka and since we are not addressing the issues of minorities there is terrorism in Sri Lanka.”
“Now I ask if the attacks took place in France killing over 150 people since there was no reconciliation?” questioned the minister.
Mr De Silva, who was the chief negotiator for the Sri Lankan government during peace talks with the LTTE in Geneva in 2006, added that these countries must now rethink the advice they gave Sri Lanka.
“Countries like France, the US and UK could not defeat terrorism,” he added. “These countries must place flowers and worship Sri Lanka. They must learn lessons from us.”
Colombo Gazette reported the minister also spoke on the UN Human Rights Council, stating the time has come for the “UNHRC to understand that the Sri Lankan military took efforts to defeat a brutal terrorist outfit".
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