International Community firmly behind Lanka - FM

Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama told Parliament on Friday the resounding victory of President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Presidential Polls earned the praise of several friendly countries.

The Minister speaking at the debate on the extension of the State of Emergency said the commendations are a clear manifestation of the solidarity towards Sri Lanka by the International Community, as well as an acknowledgement of the integrity of the election process executed by the Election Commissioner and his staff.

He said the integrity of the election process was further endorsed by the statements made by the election observers.

The Commonwealth Expert Team in its report stated that "based on our team reports and reports from other observers it appears that the overall voting and counting proceeded reasonably well in most areas."

Meanwhile, the integrity of the election process was acknowledged by the Colombo-based envoys of the European countries during my discussions with them on Thursday.

The same view was reiterated by the British Foreign Secretary, David Miliband during a telephone conversation with me on Friday.

"While congratulating the President and the Government for the clear mandate received from the people, the British Foreign Secretary also took note of the fact that over 70 percent of the people had cast their vote, including the people of the North and the East.

He also expressed hope that the upcoming Parliamentary election would be equally inclusive and democratic," the Minister said.