Dialogue is the way forward in conflict resolution – Mangala on UNESCO vote

Supporting a negotiated settlement between Israel and the Palestine, Sri Lanka abstained from voting at UNESCO, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mangala Samaraweera told Parliament yesterday.

“Sri Lanka knows the pain of destruction. This is the message we want to give the world. Having seen the disaster, Sri Lanka stands for dialogue as the means for resolution. Our potion is that issues pertaining to Israel and Palestine should also be resolved through dialogue. Resolutions of such nature will lead to the preservation of cultural heritage and resolve problems without causing further stress and strain. Therefore Sri Lanka decided to abstain from voting. We did not vote against the resolution. The Government of Sri Lanka has not changed, reversed or abandoned the long-held position of support for Palestine,” said Minister Samaraweera. 

“Sri Lanka is an Executive Member of the UNESCO board along with 58 other countries. The 13 October proposals were placed with the executive board which deals with the Al Aksha mosque and the surroundings of the Al-Haram Sharif in Jerusalem. The members of the 58-member board could not reach a consensus. We are very aware of the stats taken by Palestine with regard to this matter. However, there were concerns with regard to the language used and the sites were referred by only Arabic names. These were the reasoned divisions among the members of the executive board,” added the minister in response to a question raised by opposition lawmaker Dinesh Gunawardena regarding the Sri Lankan delegation abstaining from voting at UNESCO for the resolution moved by Palestine denouncing the violations carried out by Israel in and around Al-Haram Sharif in Jerusalem. (AH)