( Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga: formidable task)
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) is expected to declare its stance on the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) report,after careful examination.
SLFP Secretary and Cabinet Minister Duiminda Dissanayaka said, “the report is a 250-page document. The SLFP has decided to put it under heavy scrutiny.”
The report was prepared in response to a US-sponsored resolution which was passed at UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) sessions held in March 2014.
“We have appointed a sub committee, headed by former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, to study the report in detail. The committee consists of several senior members of the party. Our lawyers are also working on it,”said Dissanayaka.
“Asked if they had noticed any recommendations or segments of interest that have come to light with the report,” Dissanayaka said, “one cannot give piecemeal accounts about it. The SLFP feels that it calls for careful observation.”
“We are looking at the report seriously.
“The SLFP Central Committee is set to discuss it after the Parliamentary sessions on October 11. It could take time before we can declare our stance,” he said.
“The country’s sovereignty, unitary status, and its ability to work with the international community as well as achieving reconciliation will be our main concern,” he added.
Chamikara Weerasinghe
CDN