Sri Lanka’s president Maithripala Sirisena vowed that his government would not “bow down” to international pressure, days after meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon.
Speaking at the 65th anniversary of the Sri Lankan Freedom Party, Mr Sirisena told a crowd in Kurunegala that the international community would not be allowed to interfere with the “domestic affairs” of the island.
ColomboPage and Colombo Gazette reported the president as adding he would not “bow down” to international pressure and pledged to protect the “sovereignty” of Sri Lanka.
AFP quoted Mr Sirisena as stating he had requested “more time” from the UN Sceretary-General to make moves towards accountability and justice.
“I told him not to be in a hurry. Be patient, give me some more time to rebuild my country,” said Mr Sirisena. “The Secretary-General had a smile on his face and told me: ‘You continue your work.'”
Ban Ki Moon visited Jaffna during his visit where he met with several Tamil political leaders, who called for an international accountability mechanism for mass atrocities. Meanwhile in the South, Sinhala nationalists protested against Mr Ban.
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