UK acknowledges concerns about safety of ‘Prime Minister’ Wickremesinghe

by Abi
Oct 30, 2018

The British government acknowledges concerns “about the safety of Prime Minister Wickremesinghe”, the UK’s Foreign Secretary said on Tuesday.

Answering questions in Parliament today, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said “I know that a number of Members are concerned about the safety of Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, and we are watching the situation with a great deal of concern.”

The Foreign Secretary’s remarks were in response to a question by former FCO minister Hugo Swire. When asked by Swire if the Foreign Secretary would be pointing out "that [the Sri Lankan president’s] recent actions are in direct contravention of the 19th amendment to Sri Lanka’s constitution, that the international community continues to recognise Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as the legitimate Prime Minister, that this can only be changed by a vote in Parliament, and that Parliament must be recalled as a matter of urgency...,” the Foreign Secretary replied “I will certainly be making those points when I talk to President Sirisena.”

See also: British MPs probe UK govt's commitment to accountability in Sri Lanka

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