1 September 2016 11:39 am
The collective of National Organizations including a group of Buddhist monks staged a protest displaying posters condemning the intervention of the United Nations in the internal matters of the country.
Police personnel at the UN office in Colombo prevented the monks from approaching the UN office and handed over a court order banning any protest outside the UN office.
However, the monks were allowed to hand over the petition to a representative of the UN office after they promised to behave decently.
Ven. Dayarathana Thera said the UN had turned a blind eye to the issues of the Sinhalese and alleged that the UN kept quiet when Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims were attacked by the LTTE terrorists during the war. “They did not pay any attention to any human rights violation at that time,” the Thera said.
Meanwhile, Joint Opposition MP Bandula Gunawardane who arrived at the UN office to hand over a petition said the UN had no mandate to get involved in the internal affairs of a sovereign nation.
“We wish to remind that, since the conflict in Sri Lanka has been categorised as a non-International Armed Conflict, the UNHRC has no mandate to resolve that mechanism be set up relating to International Humanitarian Law that governs Armed Conflict,” he said.
“Vested interests are now using all possible agencies and instruments of the UN in a humiliating manner to break up the sovereign state and the independent nation of Sri Lanka,” the petition said.
Joint Opposition MPs Sisira Jayakody and Weerakumara Dissanayake were also present at the occasion. (Ajith Siriwardana)
Video by Indika Sri Aravinda