Cabinet has instructed the External Affairs Ministry to summon the US Envoy in Colombo Michele Sison and register the government’s formal protest over a newspaper advertisement put in by the US Embassy in Colombo calling for applications from NGOs for what it called a citizenship program, Daily Mirror learns. 

 

Sources said that Cabinet of Ministers discussed this matter at their meeting yesterday. Ministers reportedly criticised the act and called it as a ‘blatant interference in domestic affairs’. Consequently the External Affair Ministry was asked to summon the US envoy and register a formal protest.

The ministers said that Sri Lanka had had universal franchise since 1931 and, therefore, there was no need for foreign countries to educate them on elections.
 

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister G.L. Peries had reportedly informed the Cabinet of Ministers that he had already fixed an appointment with the US Envoy in Colombo to raise the matter with her.
 

US---Sri Lanka political relations have been strained in recent years, mainly due to the US sponsored resolution adopted by the UNHRC.

The resolution mandated the UNHRC to conduct an international inquiry into alleged human rights violations and accountability issues during the final stages of the war. (Kelum Bandara)