Lankan Prez Accuses US Of Bullying His Country

New Delhi, March 1, IRNA -- President Mahinda Rajapaksa Friday said that Sri Lanka should not face a UN Human Rights Council resolution, as he accused the US of bullying his country. ˈA resolution is something that we are uncomfortable with, there should never be a resolution,ˈ the president said addressing Colombo-based foreign correspondents, pti reported. Rajapaksa was answering a query on the impending resolution against Sri Lanka at the UN rights body, the third in as many years. He hinted that there may be a hidden agenda behind the resolution. Commenting on Indiaˈs stance on the US-moved resolution, Rajapaksa said the current political climate in India had to be understood. India had backed both previous UNHRC resolutions against Sri Lanka and voted with the US. ˈThis is like Cassius Clay using a school boy as a punching bag,ˈ he said likening the US to the heavyweight boxing champion better known as Muhammad Ali. He said the US action was part of the superpowerˈs bullying tactics in the Indian Ocean region. Rajapaksaˈs government has faced international accusations of human rights abuses by Sri Lankan troops against the LTTE who fought for a separate Tamil homeland in the north and east of the country. He led an effective military campaign which ended the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)ˈs three-decade separatist campaign in May 2009. ˈNo country has done so much to achieve reconciliation like us (Sri Lanka) within a short period of five years,ˈ Rajapaksa stressed. Sri Lanka faces a third resolution in as many years next month at the UNHRC session censuring the country on its lack of progress on human rights accountability and reconciliation with the Tamil minority after the civil war ended. A recent damning report by UN rights chief Navi Pillay has called for an international probe into allegations of war crimes committed by Sri Lankan troops during the final battle with the LTTE./end