Following the appointment of Britain’s first non-white Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, Sri Lanka’s President, Ranil Wickremesinghe, rushed to congratulate the UK’s new leader and claimed confidence that British-Sri Lankan relations would strengthen.
“I look forward to enhancing this partnership, particularly through the ‘Global Britain’ policy and the UK’s new ‘Platinum Partnership’ scheme with the Commonwealth countries,” Wickremesinghe wrote.
During the conservative party leadership contest, Sunak spoke to British Tamils on the struggle for justice and accountability for the crimes committed in 2009 as well as noting the undue influence of the Sri Lankan military on the island.
Earlier this month, the UK-led UNHRC resolution 51/l1, which will “extend and reinforce the capacity of the Office of the High Commissioner to collect, consolidate, analyse and preserve” evidence that may be used in future war crimes trials. Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry has repeatedly rejected the resolution and claimed that they can resolve the island’s ills through a domestic mechanism.
It remains to be seen whether Sunak will deliver on his commitment to Tamils.
Read more here: TG VIEW - British Tamils expect action from Rishi Sunak
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