Friday, August 13, 2010

China pledges support to Sri Lanka



By Ananth Krishnan | The Hindu
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China has pledged its support to Sri Lanka against any international pressure for a United Nations-led probe into alleged war crimes, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris said here on Thursday.

Mr. Peiris, who on Thursday held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, said China had conveyed its support to Sri Lanka's position that international interference in investigating alleged war crimes was unwarranted.


Sri Lanka has opposed U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's decision to set up a three-member expert panel to look into the conclusion of the war against the LTTE, arguing that the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission appointed by Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa was the right body to carry forward investigations.

“The international community needs to recognise it can help, but that there should not be judgemental posturing,” Mr. Peiris said, speaking at the China Institute of International Studies (CIIS), a think-tank affiliated to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

The Sri Lankan Foreign Minister also hit out at the West, particularly the European Union, for imposing trade penalties on Sri Lanka for human rights violations. From August 15, the EU will withdraw its generalised system of preferences (GSP) trade concessions for Sri Lanka, which provide reduced import tariffs and preferential access to EU markets. The move is expected to badly hit Sri Lanka's apparel industry.

© The Hindu

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