Kalam to visit SL to discuss power and energy

Former Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam will be the Chief Guest at a Sri Lankan government - organized conference on issues relating to power and energy to be held on June 26 and 27.

The spokesperson of the Lankan Foreign Ministry, Mahishini Colonne, told the media on Wednesday, that the Minister of Power and Energy, Champika Ranwaka, had met Kalam in New Delhi on June 8 and invited him to attend the conclave as the Chief Guest and that Kalam had accepted the invitation.

Colonne further said that Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena would be visiting New York to attend the celebrations relating to the 70th anniversary of the UN.

President Maithripala indicated this to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, when the latter telephoned him last week.

The Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that while the Lankan government has moved towards ethnic reconciliation on several fronts, a domestic mechanism to inquire into war crimes charges is yet to be set up.

As per the Sri Lankan government's commitment to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and the US, such a mechanism is to be set by September before the September-October session of the UNHRC in Geneva.If it is not set up, the High Commissioner for Human Rights would release the report of his team on war crimes and other rights issues pertaining to Sri Lanka. The report is believed to be damaging.

On the discussions between the Global Tamil Forum, the Tamil National Alliance, and Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera in London last weekend, Colonne said that it was part of the government's engagement with the Sri Lankan Diaspora in a bid to get them to help in the on-going reconciliation and developmental processes in the island nation. The engagement is in fulfillment of the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, Colonne said. (Indian Express)