[Updated with further comments]
Sri Lanka on Monday made it clear that it will not abide by the United Nations Human Rights Council resolution last week that censured it over its rights abuses and said it would only implement "feasible" recommendations of its own panel that probed the bloody civil war.
See reports by Rediff and AFP.
“We had taken a decision not to abide by the resolution irrespective of the result", External Affairs Minister G L Peiris told reporters.
“We would treat it as an interference in the sovereignty of the country.”
“We oppose it. It internationalises Sri Lanka’s situation. It takes away the sovereign rights of the people.”
There would be no international consequences, he added, as "This is no (UN) Security Council decision."
“There will be no duress, no coercion of any kind. It’s a non-binding resolution. There are no economic sanctions.”
Peiris also said that Sri Lanka felt that no reply is needed to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's recent letter to President Mahinda Rajapaksa explaining why Delhi supported the UNHRC resolution.
Peiris’ comments were echoed Irrigation Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, who said the government would only implement those recommendations of the LLRC (Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Committee) it accepted.
“The government will have to carefully consider the content of the [LLRC] report and take a decision as to which part of the report has to be implemented,” the Associated Press quoted him as saying.
In certain areas, the report “has gone beyond the mandate of the LLRC,” he said at a news conference with six government ministers. He refused to elaborate.
“We would implement only what we accept and consider feasible,” The Island quoted him as saying.
