The United States will support a sustainable economic recovery in Sri Lanka as it recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, the US Ambassador said earlier this week.
In a roundtable discussion with journalists, Alaina Teplitz, said that the US remains a “steadfast partner” and will continue contribute to Sri Lanka to manage the pandemic, the Daily FT reported.
Teplitz commented on Sri Lanka’s efforts to contain the virus, however, did not address the increasing clampdown of expression in Sri Lanka since the outbreak.
The ambassador shared her concerns regarding the recently established Presidential Task Force.
“I have some of the same questions that some Sri Lankans have- why, for example, an archaeological Task Force (TF) would have been set up for a particular area and yet not reflect the population of that place, the mandate of the virtue TF not appearing to have a strong role for communities or the Judiciary in the process,” she reported said.
Earlier this month, Ambassador Teplitz met with Major General Sudantha Ranasinghe, who is suspected of overseeing human rights violations, to hand over a shipment of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
