Lankan Gov't Slams British Ministerˈs Comments On LLRC

New Delhi, Feb 1, IRNA -- The Sri Lankan government slammed a comment made by a British parliamentarian that Lankaˈs domestic mechanism for reconciliation, Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation (LLRC) was not according to international standards. Petroleum Industries Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa lashed out at British Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Hugo Swire for making a statement in the UK parliament that any process Sri Lanka established to investigate the war, including the LLRC, does not meet criteria set by the UK. ˈAny domestic process should be credible, independent and transparent to be accepted by the international community. We do not believe that any of the processes established to date by the Sri Lankan Government - such as the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission - meet these standards,ˈ Swire said, ColomboPage, Sri Lankan Internet Newspaper reported. Minister Yapa pointed out that the Swireˈs statement is a devaluation of the governmentˈs efforts to safeguard human rights and reach reconciliation. However, the Minister said the government is not concerned about the views of an individual or a country when the United Nations and other organizations have accepted the LLRC as a credible and viable process to promote reconciliation between the communities. Senior Minister DEW Gunasekera also criticizing the British ministerˈs statement said the British government was fully satisfied with the LLRC process earlier and has apparently deviated from its original position over the LLRC process due to pressure from vested interests./end