A Sri Lankan government minister has slammed “Western countries” and “British imperialists”, commenting on a Swiss embassy employee being abducted in Colombo and the UK Conservative Party’s manifesto pledges on Sri Lanka.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Sunday Observer published today, Wimal Weerawansa said that the abduction of the Swiss embassy employee was a “diabolical lie” and also rejected devolving land and police powers to provinces as per Sri Lanka’s 13th Amendment.

“We vehemently condemn the Swiss embassy falling to such a degradable level,” Weerawansa said. “They are pained by the loss of the former puppet administration. The Western countries through that puppet administration continued their project to weaken our state. They were waiting to sign the MoU on Millennium Challenge Corporation. When their entire roadmap became a failure, they couldn’t take it up. It is surprising that their regrets are expressed through such comedies.”

He went on to call the Swiss embassy’s record of the abduction “a diabolical lie”.

Weerawansa also commented on the Conservative Party’s manifesto pledge on Sri Lanka, ahead of next week’s British general election.

“To get the votes of the Sri Lankan Tamils in Britain, the Conservative party says they would support a two-state policy in Sri Lanka,” he claimed. “They include such clauses to their manifestos thinking that we are still a colony of the British imperialists. Whether it is Great Britain, its Conservative Party, Labour party or any other, they have no right to decide the destiny of our country. These white men should understand that the present world would not bow down before them or be at their mercy. At the recently concluded Presidential Election, the Sri Lankan people showed that they would not let anybody to divide this country or even touch it.”

The Sri Lankan minister also added that the Sri Lankan president had already made clear he would not be devolving powers to provinces, as per the 13th Amendment.

“There is no need at all to give land and police powers,” he claimed. “Devolution of power to the Provinces based on ethnicity would aggravate the problems. Some foreign countries don’t wish to see our country in a stable position. They attempt to create issues in our country. However, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has categorically stated that he would not pursue any move which is rejected by the majority of the people.”

See the full interview here.