In a US State Department Daily Press Briefing this week, Spokesperson Victoria Nuland has stated that if Sri Lanka was not “forthcoming” in steps towards accountability, then the international community will examine other steps that can be taken.

Commenting on resolution 22/1, Minister of Youth Affairs, Dalas Alahapperuma, told reporters that the UNHRC was being misused by "imperialists" to divide Sri Lanka.

Source Associated Press.

Speaking at a media briefing held at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute in Colombo on Friday, the Minister of Petroleum, Susil Premajayantha, 'accused the LTTE diaspora of attempting to influence the international community against Sri Lanka'.

Source Colombo Page.

Reacting to India's vote in favour of the resolution that has been adopted at the UNHRC, the JHU (part of the ruling UPFA), called on the government to form an Asian brotherhood of states, without India.

In a statement, the JHU said:

The National Freedom Front (NFF) - a party within the ruling UPFA coalition, called on the government to reconsider the economic engagement with India and the US.

The NFF media spokesperson, Mohamed Muzamil, said the government must reconsider importing products from India and the US.

In a letter to the Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa, the Sri Lankan Muslim Council (SLMC) called for the anti-Muslim attacks by Buddhist groups to end.

A letter signed by the President of the Muslim Council N.M. Ameen said:

“Their campaign has also affected all businesses – not just Muslims’ – and resulted in a threat to the maintenance of law and order affecting all communities. These groups have been using the traditional media, social media, public meetings, posters, leaflets, and the circulation of rumours and misinformation insulting Muslims to inculcate a sense of fear and hatred of Muslims among Sinhalese. They are using abusive language when referring to our religious practices and publicly calling for a boycott of businesses run by Muslims,”

Sri Lanka's opposition party, the UNP, which has been largely quiet over recent events at the UN Human Rights Council, blamed the government for resolution 22/L1. 

In a column - ‘Acting’ President Priyankara on cloud nine - the SundayTimes.lk has asked if the GTF and the TNA were responsible for Botswana's vote of abstention.

In an email interview with the Sunday Observer, Sri Lanka's Special Envoy to Geneva on Human Rights, Mahinda Samarasinghe asserted that the UNHRC and the resolution seemed "to be pursuing other agendas [not human rights] bordering on the political," and went on to forewarn that "we will expose time and again and resist with all our efforts".

Reiterating the efforts made by Sri Lanka to present itself in a positive light, Samarasinghe said, "remnants of the defeated LTTE remain and wield influence in many countries".

He added,

"They are highly motivated, well-funded and are working against any success in reconciliation in Sri Lanka. They do exercise some influence in countries in which they have taken up domicile. They influence the domestic agenda in these countries."

Extracts of the interview are reproduced below. See here for full transcript on the Sri Lankan military's website.

MA Sumanthiran of the TNA, spoke to the Sunday Leader on the resolution recently adopted by the UNHRC:

Human Rights Watch blamed Australia and India for the final watering down of the UNHRC resolution, thus easing the pressure on the Sri Lankan government, by putting domestic political concerns ahead of human rights, The Weekend Australian reported.

A heated exchange took place between visiting Canadian Senator Hugh Segal and External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L Peiris over Sri Lanka’s impeachment of the Chief Justice, the Daily Mirror reported.

Segal was being hosted by Peiris in delivering a guest at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute, when in response to a journalist question, he criticised the impeachment.