Sri Lanka’s External Affairs Ministry slammed the European Union (EU) after it called on the government to conduct elections without “fear and violence” on Friday.
In response to the EU call, Sri Lanka released a statement saying,
"Domestic elections are not for foreign government representatives to be prescriptive about, that too, a few days ahead of the polls."
The statement went on to say,
“It is therefore surprising that the EU Heads of Mission in Colombo should have resorted to a press statement on an issue of a strictly domestic nature. Such an initiative could bring into question the bona-fides and objectivity of their intervention.”
Earlier the EU said,
“European Union Heads of Mission in Colombo note the importance of Sri Lanka’s
Presidential election process being peaceful, credible and transparent. Heads of Mission recall the EU’s longstanding conviction that a peaceful environment is essential for credible elections. Sri Lankan citizens must be free to choose their leaders without violence or fear.”
See the full EU statement here.
Sri Lanka had also attacked UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, expressing “strong resentment” in response to his call for “peaceful and credible” elections.
See our earlier post: Sri Lanka attacks UN Secretary-General over election comments (31 Dec 2014)