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Monday, 18 November 2013 01:04 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

“My responsibility to get it done” says President on accountability

C’wealth Spokesman begs reporters to veer away from HR and Lanka during Q&A

President says deadlines are unfair, vows to deliver

By Dharisha Bastians President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday appealed to the international media to play fair and stop pushing the country into a corner, as he concluded a three-day Commonwealth Summit that has been dominated by debate on Sri Lanka’s human rights record. “You can help us, you must respect our views also,” the President said, issuing a call out to the international press as he wrapped up CHOGM 2013 with his third and final media briefing at the BMICH briefing room last afternoon. The focus on Sri Lanka’s rights record had been so intense that Commonwealth Spokesman Richard Uku implored reporters to ask questions that were not related to Sri Lanka or human rights at the outset of the Q&A session of the briefing. President Rajapaksa insisted that like any other country, Sri Lanka would also be “sensitive” to references made to them by other members of the world community, whether it is regarding human rights or anything else. “You have to respect our Constitution, our legal system,” he said. “The process has already started,” he reiterated, adding that deadlines were not helpful to the reconciliation process. Presidential pledge! “People can’t give us one month or three months to get this done. That’s very unfair. It takes time, we need time,” the President said one day after British Prime Minister David Cameron said Sri Lanka had till March 2014 to move on an inquiry into alleged abuses during the final phase of the war or face an international investigation. “It is my responsibility. They are all my people. And I will do it,” the President vowed, referring to the accountability and reconciliation process. It was the second time in two days that the President has called for more time for Sri Lanka to address accountability concerns over which international pressure is mounting. President Rajapaksa said that Sri Lanka had already commenced a dialogue with countries such as South Africa to learn from its experiences in reconciliation and truth-seeking. “It cannot be done overnight. We have already sent teams to South Africa to study,” he told reporters. He called on Sri Lanka’s critics and especially the international media to refrain from dividing communities of people in the country. “We have suffered for 30 years. At least now they want to start a new life. That’s why they elected me and it is my responsibility to deliver it,” the President said.