Parliamentarians from the United National Party welcomed the Sri Lankan president’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly this week, where he rejected ‘foreign influences’.
“What president told at the General Assembly is that Sri Lanka should be allowed to work independently without any interference,” said UNP MP Hector Appuhamy, speaking alongside fellow parliamentarian Kavinda Jayawardene at a press conference. “This is something that has to be done, and therefore, what President said was correct.”
Sirisena was accompanied by Buddhist monks and a senior leader from the extremist Jathika Hela Urumaya party during his visit to the United Nations, where he vowed to protect the “pride of the security forces” and call for war crimes charges against Sri Lankan troops to be dropped.
Senior leaders from the UNP, including ministers Mangala Samaraweera and Sajith Premadasa, have also previously rejected calls for an accountability mechanism with international judges as agreed to by Sri Lanka under a UN resolution.