11 February 2010 07:10 am
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who spoke with President Mahinda Rajapaksa over the telephone last night, has said that Pascoe will visit Colombo for talks soon after the presidential inauguration scheduled for later this month.
During the telephone conversation with the President, Ban Ki-moon has expressed his concerns about recent developments in Sri Lanka and urged the President to respect due process of law regarding the case of General Sarath Fonseka, the former army chief and runner-up in recent presidential elections.
Mr. Ban called on the Government in Colombo to guarantee the personal safety of Mr. Fonseka, who was arrested on Monday for alleged "military offences."
The UN said the Secretary-General also urged Mr. Rajapaksa to keep his commitment, set out in a joint statement with the UN last year, "to ensure concrete proposals for a political solution of issues with the Tamil community in the north and to ensure full accountability for any crimes against international humanitarian law or abuses of human rights."
Mr. Ban "took note of the progress in returning displaced persons to their places of origin, but added that more needs to be done in this regard." (Daily Mirror online)