{"id":32589,"date":"2014-08-20T11:50:40","date_gmt":"2014-08-20T15:50:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=32589"},"modified":"2014-08-20T11:50:40","modified_gmt":"2014-08-20T15:50:40","slug":"president-rajapaksa-says-navi-pillay-is-biasedand-reiterates-un-investigators-would-not-be-permitted-to-enter-sri-lanka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=32589","title":{"rendered":"President Rajapaksa Says Navi Pillay is “Biased”and Reiterates UN Investigators Would not be Permitted to Enter Sri Lanka."},"content":{"rendered":"

By <\/p>\n

Dharisha Bastians<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brimming with confidence about being re-elected to serve an unprecedented third term in office, President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday shrugged off his political rivals and appeared undeterred by the UN inquiry into allegations of war crimes quietly gathering steam in Geneva.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will be still be here, I am planning for the next five years,\u201d President Rajapaksa told Colombo-based Foreign Correspondents at Temple Trees yesterday, asked about his chances at the next presidential election. His Government\u2019s vision was targeting the year 2020, President Rajapaksa explained.<\/p>\n

Asked whether this meant he would retire in 2020, the President quipped: \u201cAsk me that in 2020.\u201dIt was the strongest indication yet that the President may declare a snap poll in 2015, in which he will contest a third term in office.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

President Rajapaksa will become the first Executive President of Sri Lanka to contest three times at a presidential election after his Government passed the 18th Amendment to the Constitution in September 2010, removing presidential term limits.<\/p>\n

Queried about the prospect of facing off against his predecessor and former Party Leader Chandrika Kumaratunga in the presidential contest, the President said he was \u201cnot bothered\u201d by her possible re-entry into the political fray.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone can contest elections,\u201d he noted dismissively.<\/p>\n

President Rajapaksa reiterated the Government\u2019s non-cooperation with the UN probe mandated by a Human Rights Council resolution passed in March this year, and insisted that UN investigators would not be permitted to enter Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

Asked about UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay\u2019s recent assertion that her investigators did not require to enter Sri Lanka to conduct the inquiry, President Rajapaksa replied: \u201cYou can see how biased she is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only people taking this UN inquiry seriously are those who wanted the investigation,\u201d the President added.<\/p>\n

The UN had no mandate to conduct the probe, he said. \u201cWe are against it, we will not accept this,\u201d the President said.<\/p>\n

However, his Government would not prevent people from testifying before the UN inquiry, the President added.<\/p>\n

But suspected pro-Government mobs attacked a recent meeting of the families of the disappeared at the Centre for Society and Religion in Maradana, on the grounds that NGOs and the diplomatic community were recording evidence to be put before the UN probe.<\/p>\n

The protestors later claimed to represent missing people\u2019s families from the south, through an organisation calling itself the Dead and Missing People\u2019s Parents Front.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was recording equipment found in the room adjoining the meeting hall. Why else would the equipment be there?\u201d External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris told foreign correspondents at yesterday\u2019s breakfast meeting.<\/p>\n

President Rajapaksa said the disruption of the meeting had nothing to do with the Government.
\n\u201cThat was a problem between two groups,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He said he had campaigned against disappearances in 1989-1990 and remained committed to the cause.
\n\u201cWhen we were campaigning for the disappeared too there were many obstacles thrown in our way,\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n

Ministers Peiris and Keheliya Rambukwella, Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga, Media Ministry Secretary Charitha Herath and Military Spokesman Ruwan Wanigasooriya were also present at the briefing.<\/p>\n

Courtesy:DailyFT<\/em><\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Dharisha Bastians Brimming with confidence about being re-elected to serve an unprecedented third term in office, President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday shrugged off his political rivals and appeared undeterred by the UN inquiry into allegations of war crimes quietly gathering steam in Geneva. \u201cI will be still be here, I am planning for the next …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘President Rajapaksa Says Navi Pillay is “Biased”and Reiterates UN Investigators Would not be Permitted to Enter Sri Lanka.’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32589"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32589"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32590,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32589\/revisions\/32590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}